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pander

[pan-der]
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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.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to act as a pander; cater basely: to pander to the vile tastes of vulgar persons.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to act as a pander for.
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Origin of pander

1325–75; earlier pandar(e), generalized use of Middle English name Pandare Pandarus
Related formspan·der·age, nounpan·der·ing·ly, adverbpan·der·ism, nounpan·der·ly, adjective
Can be confusedpanda pander
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

hustlerpanderwhoremongermackpandererflesh-peddler

Examples from the Web for panderer

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But your friend, your accomplice, your panderer—the coward who represents you—shall pay for your crime.

    Louise de la Valliere

    Alexandre Dumas, Pere

  • She then undressed the body, placed it naturally in bed, and went out to look for "her Billy," her paramour and panderer in vice.

  • With this sort of despite I was sufficiently inspired, extending equally to the patron and the panderer.

  • "Panderer" is not a pretty thing to be called, but the pleasant Messrs. Hilkovitz and Berger swallow it.

    The Red Conspiracy

    Joseph J. Mereto

British Dictionary definitions for panderer

pander

verb
  1. (intr foll by to) to give gratification (to weaknesses or desires)
  2. (archaic when tr) to act as a go-between in a sexual intrigue (for)
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noun Also: panderer
  1. a person who caters for vulgar desires, esp in order to make money
  2. a person who procures a sexual partner for another; pimp
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Word Origin

C16 (n): from Pandare Pandarus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for panderer

pander

n.

"arranger of sexual liaisons, one who supplies another with the means of gratifying lust," 1520s, "procurer, pimp," from Middle English Pandare (late 14c.), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in Italian form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the prince (Greek Pandaros), who procured the love of Cressida (his niece in Chaucer, his cousin in Boccaccio) for Troilus. The story and the name are medieval inventions. Spelling influenced by agent suffix -er.

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pander

v.

"to indulge (another), to minister to base passions," c.1600, from pander (n.). Related: Pandered; pandering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
panderer in Medicine

Pander

(pän′dər)Christian Heinrich 1794-1865
  1. Russian-born German anatomist and pioneer embryologist. With Karl Ernst von Baer he discovered the distinct structural layers of the chick embryo.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.