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pandering

 - 6 dictionary results

pan⋅der

[pan-der]
–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


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. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To pandering
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  (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: 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

Main Entry: pan·der·ing
Function: noun
1 : the act or crime of recruiting prostitutes or of arranging a situation for another to practice prostitution —compare PIMP
2 : the act or crime of selling or distributing visual or print media (as magazines) designed to appeal to the recipient's sexual interest
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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