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Definition of pander - 9 dictionary results

pan⋅der

  [pan-der]
Use pander in a Sentence
–noun Also, pan⋅der⋅er.
1. a person who furnishes clients for a prostitute or supplies persons for illicit sexual intercourse; procurer; pimp.
2. a person who caters to or profits from the weaknesses or vices of others.
3. a go-between in amorous intrigues.
–verb (used without object)
4. to act as a pander; cater basely: to pander to the vile tastes of vulgar persons.
–verb (used with object)
5. to act as a pander for.
Origin:
1325–75; earlier pandar(e), generalized use of ME name Pandare Pandarus

Related forms:
pan⋅der⋅age, noun
pan⋅der⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
pan⋅der⋅ism, noun
pan⋅der⋅ly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pan·der   (pān'dər)   
intr.v.   pan·dered, pan·der·ing, pan·ders
  1. To act as a go-between or liaison in sexual intrigues; function as a procurer.
  2. To cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses: "He refused to pander to nostalgia and escapism" (New York Times).

[Middle English Pandare, Pandarus, from Old Italian Pandaro, from Latin Pandarus, from Greek Pandaros.]
pan'der n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pander

Pan"der\, n. [From Pandarus, a leader in the Trojan army, who is represented by Chaucer and Shakespeare as having procured for Troilus the possession of Cressida.]

1. A male bawd; a pimp; a procurer.

Thou art the pander to her dishonor. --Shak.

2. Hence, one who ministers to the evil designs and passions of another.

Those wicked panders to avarice and ambition. --Burke.

Pander

Pan"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pandered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pandering.] To play the pander for.

Pander

Pan"der\, v. i. To act the part of a pander.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pander
Spanish: acceder a, complacer,
German: Vorschub leisten,
Japanese: 迎合する
More Translations »

pander  (n.)
"arranger of sexual liaisons, one who supplies another with the means of gratifying lust," 1530, "procurer, pimp," from M.E. Pandare (c.1374), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in It. form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the prince who procured the love of Cressida (his niece in Chaucer, his cousin in Boccaccio) for Troilus. The story and the name are of medieval invention. Spelling infl. by agent suffix -er. The verb meaning "to indulge, to minister to base passions" is first recorded 1602.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: pan·der
Pronunciation: 'pan-d&r
Function: transitive verb
: to sell or distribute by pandering pander prurient materials —Dunigan Enterprises v. District Attorney for the Northern District, 415 North Eastern Reporter, Second Series 251 (1981)> intransitive verb : to engage in pandering pander and receive the earnings of a prostitute —State v. Tocco, 750 Pacific Reporter, Second Series 874 (1988)>

Main Entry: pander
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English Pandare, character who procured for Troilus the love of Cressida in Troilus and Creseyde, poem by Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1342–1400)
: one who engages in pandering : PANDERER
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Pander Pan·der (pän'dər), Christian Heinrich. 1794-1865.

Russian-born German anatomist and pioneer embryologist. With Karl Ernst von Baer he discovered the distinct structural layers of the chick embryo.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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