pamper

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb treat with excessive indulgence

Etymology

From Middle English pamperen (“to cram with food”), from Middle Dutch *pamperen (“to cram with food”), frequentative of *pampen (“to stuff”), from Proto-Germanic *pamp- (“to swell”), from Proto-Indo-European *bamb- (“round object”), equivalent to pamp + -er. Cognate with West Flemish pamperen (“to cram with food, overindulge”), Middle Low German pampen (“to stuff oneself”), dialectal German pampfen (“to cram”), dialectal Danish pampe (“to boast, brag”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge

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