ponder
English
Etymology
From Middle English ponderen, from Old French ponderer (“to weigh, balance, ponder”) from Latin ponderare (“to weigh, ponder”), from pondus (“weight”), from pendere (“to weigh”); see pendent and pound.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpɒn.də(ɹ)/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈpɑn.dɚ/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒndə(ɹ)
Verb
ponder (third-person singular simple present ponders, present participle pondering, simple past and past participle pondered)
- To wonder, think of deeply.
- To consider (something) carefully and thoroughly.
- Synonyms: chew over, mull over; see also Thesaurus:ponder
- I have spent days pondering the meaning of life.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 4:26:
- Ponder the path of thy feet.
- (obsolete) To weigh.
Translations
to think deeply
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to consider carefully
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Noun
ponder (plural ponders)
- (colloquial) A period of deep thought.
- I lit my pipe and had a ponder about it, but reached no definite conclusion.
Further reading
- “ponder”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “ponder”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
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