pander

/ˈpændər/

/ˈpændə/

Other forms: pandering; panders; pandered

If a campaigning politician wants to pander to a crowd of pet owners, he might deliver a speech while embracing his own pet poodle. To pander is to appease or gratify, and often in a negative, self-serving way.

The word pander began its infamous history as the name of various characters. Pandaro was a character in Boccaccio’s Filostrato. Pandarus was a character in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, as well as in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. These literary works all tell the tale of star-crossed lovers, and the namesake of pander is, essentially, a go-between whose motives don't seem entirely pure.

Definitions of pander

1. verb

   yield (to); give satisfaction to
   synonyms: gratify, indulge

   types:

   humor, humour

   put into a good mood

   spree

   engage without restraint in an activity and indulge, as when shopping

   sow one's oats, sow one's wild oats

   live promiscuously and self-indulgently

   type of:

   cater, ply, provide, supply

   give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
2. verb

   arrange for sexual partners for others
   type of:

   cater, ply, provide, supply

   give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
3. noun

   someone who procures customers for prostitutes
   type of:

   offender, wrongdoer

   a person who transgresses moral or civil law