pamperv.

Brit.

/ˈpampə/, U.S.

/ˈpæmpər/

Forms: Middle English–1500s pampre, Middle English– pamper, 1500s pampyr.

Origin: Probably formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: pamp v., -er suffix⁵.

Etymology: Probably < pamp v. + -er suffix⁵ (although first attested slightly earlier). Perhaps compare Dutch regional (West Flanders) pamperen to pamper, mollycoddle, variant of Dutch (chiefly regional) pampelen to cram, eat greedily, to engage in quackery, to finger, squeeze (especially unnecessarily), apparently < pampen (see pamp v.) + -elen -le suffix 3, but neither verb is securely attested before the second half of the 19th cent. Compare pimper v.¹

a. transitive. To cram with food; to provide with an excessively rich diet; to feed or nourish (a person, animal, etc.) luxuriously. Formerly also with up.Now passing into sense 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > feed up or overfeed

cramc1325

pamperc1390

pampa1400

papa1400

engorge1497

pompa1529

feed1552

frank?1567

grudge1642

to feed into1843

c1390 Sayings St. Bernard (Vernon) in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 515 Þi flesch..þou pamprest and seruest.

c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 157 (MED) A man þat hyȝt Theodorus in glotonye eueremore pamperyd his bely in exces of mete & of drynk.

c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 213 (MED) Good affecciouns..wolen arme and strengþe and chere a man..forto not ouer moche cherisch him silf and pampre his fleisch.

1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. New Test. II. 1 Cor. viii. f. xxiii^v Engorge and pamper vppe themselues with flesh offered to idolles.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 120^v Horscorsers..do feede them with sodden Rie, or beanemeale sodde, pampering them vp, that they may be the fayrer to the eye.

1614 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. II. O.T. v. 30 But now God will pamper their famine; and giues them..bread of Angels.

1632 F. Quarles Divine Fancies iii. lxxxii. 154 [The church] sustains th' extremes of cold and hunger, To pamper up the fat Advousion-monger.

1727 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Postscr. in J. Swift et al. Misc. II. 210 How John pamper'd Esquire South with Tit-bits, till he grew wanton.

1775 S. Johnson Let. 26 July (1992) II. 255 After dinner I went to Stow hill; there I was pampered, and had an uneasy night; Physick to day put me out of order.

1820 S. Smith Wks. (1867) I. 291 Taxes on the sauce which pampers man's appetite.

1870 R. W. Emerson Society & Solitude 133 As he nursed his..turkeys on bread and milk, so he will pamper his peaches and grapes on the viands they like best.

†b. intransitive. To indulge oneself with food, to feast luxuriously. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > excessive consumption of food or drink > eat or drink to excess [verb (intransitive)] > be gluttonous

gourmanda1450

gormandize1548

belly-cheer1549

gurmander1570

overfeed1589

overeat1590

glutton1602

cram1609

gutc1616

pamper1620

guttle1654

gluttonize1656

engorge1667

stuff1728

guddle1825

to make a pig of oneself1873

guts1903

1620 S. Rowlands Night-raven 19 To be at horse expence for oates and hay, Which idle stands and pampers in the stable.

1635 F. Quarles Emblemes v. vii. 270 To day, we pamper with a full repast Of lavish mirth; at night, we weepe as fast.

a. transitive. gen. To lavish attention, comfort, and kindness on; to spoil with luxury; to bring up in a fine or luxurious manner. Formerly also with up. Also in figurative context.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > tenderness > foolish affection, excessive love or fondness > be infatuatedly fond or love to excess [verb (transitive)] > pet, indulge, or pamper

daunt1303

cocker1440

cherisha1450

pomper1483

daut?a1513

to cocker up1530

pamper1530

pimper1537

tiddle1560

cockle1570

dandlea1577

cotchel1578

cockney1582

fondle1582

coax1589

to coax up1592

to flatter up1598

dainty1622

pet1629

cosset1659

caudle1662

faddle1688

pettle1719

coddle1786

sugar-plum1788

twattle1790

to make a fuss of or over (with)1814

mud1814

pamperizea1845

mollycoddle1851

pompey1860

cosher1861

pussy1889

molly1907

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 651/2 I pamper, I bring up dayntely, as a mother that loveth inordynately dothe her chylde.

1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Cvi^v Beynge deyntely and tenderly pampered vp in ydilnes and pleasure.

1615 R. Brathwait Loves Labyrinth 100 in Strappado Vaine is the flower, soone fading, soone forgot, Which you do pamper to your ouerthrow.

1659 J. Gauden Ἱερα Δακρυα 375 Episcopacy..was even pampered and cosetted by so excessive a favour.

1687 tr. Sallust (1692) 29 They purchase Pictures, Statues, Sculptures..to pamper their Eyes.

1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. i. xiv. 98 It is, to pamper up thee, thou Harlot [sc. Vanity], that we attempt to withdraw from others what we do not want.

1792 T. Jefferson Let. 9 Sept. in Papers (1990) XXIV. 357 Think it as honorable to the government neither to know, nor notice, it's [sic] sycophants or censors, as it would be undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute the latter.

1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton Disowned I. xx. 305 Petted and pampered from my childhood, I grew up with a profound belief in my own excellences.

1884 D. Pae Eustace 130 The service is not intended to pamper landlubbers, but to make smart seamen.

1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xi. 39 They all had potted meats..and some had ‘extras’, eggs and bacon... Some parents, unduly pampering their offspring, insisted on it.

1976 Beano 24 Jan. 6/1 Stop pampering yourselves, pals, even although it's freezing outside, we must get plenty of healthy outdoor exercise.

1997 Daily Tel. 27 Jan. 14/6 She went to a health farm for a week to de-stress and have her body pampered.

b. transitive. To excessively indulge (an emotion, quality, thought, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > weakness of intellect > make weak [verb (transitive)]

faintc1386

mollify1490

weaken1536

pamper1576

touch1607

unspirit1607

disnervea1618

petrifya1631

dissinew1640

unbrace1711

atrophy1865

unstring1897

society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > degrading or impairing morally > degrade or impair morally [verb (transitive)] > indulge base feeling

pamper1576

pandera1616

pleasant1628

1576 A. Fleming tr. Isocrates in Panoplie Epist. 180 Pampering their minds with this imagination.

1628 W. Prynne Vnlouelinesse of Louelockes 37 Which pampers the Vaine, and Sinfull humours, Lusts, and dispositions of our carnall Hearts.

1743 H. Fielding Ess. Conversat. in Misc. I. 149 To pamper his own Vanity at the Price of another's Shame.

1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman xiii. 419 Can events..be foreseen by a vicious worldling, who pampers his appetites by preying on the foolish ones?

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xviii Persons who do not want thought or feeling, but who pamper their compassion and need high stimulants to rouse it.

1892 I. Zangwill Big Bow Myst. 112 She had stifled yet pampered her grief by working hard at it [sc. a portrait] since his death.

1908 E. F. Benson Climber 83 Pamper your passion for all the things that are lovely.

?1992 Discovering Alberta (Tourism Industry Assoc. of Alberta) 4/1 You'll find Alberta's warm western hospitality ready to pamper your every holiday whim.

†3. transitive. To improve the appearance of so as to make more saleable. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautify [verb (transitive)] > improve in appearance

cheer1560

tickle1567

smudge1589

perk1590

smug1598

pamper1611

smart1780

smarten1788

primp1801

to fig up1872

dude1899

posh1919

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Mangonner, to pamper, trimme, sleeke, or set out vnto the eye sale things.

Derivatives

ˈpamperdom n. rare a pampered condition; a state of luxury.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > sensuous pleasure > luxury or luxurious living > [noun] > luxurious condition

pamperednessa1618

pamperdom1847

plushiness1938

1847 A. C. Dick in J. Brown Horæ Subs. (1884) 3rd Ser. III. 410 When from such pamperdom exiled.

2001 Daily Tel. 15 June 20/4 Chewton Lodge is a five-star hotel with spa, where the trappings of discreet pamperdom are so far outside the daily grind that they make it easy..to assimilate such notions as massage and perfumed mud.

† pamperize v. Obsolete = pamper v.Apparently an isolated use.

ΘΚΠ