ponder
UK /ˈpɒn.də/ · US /ˈpɑn.dəɹ/ verb, noun, proper noun
Forms ponders pondering pondered
- verb To wonder, think of deeply.
- verb To consider (something) carefully and thoroughly. “I have spent days pondering the meaning of life.”
- verb (obsolete) To weigh.
- noun (colloquial) A period of deep thought. “I lit my pipe and had a ponder about it, but reached no definite conclusion.”
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A ghost town in Ripley County, Missouri, United States.
- proper noun A town in Denton County, Texas, United States.
Synonyms
chew over mull over cogitate deliberate afterthink agitate bethink call to mind chew chew the cud consider contemplate introspect mull muse overthink meditate quander reflect rethink think over excogitate ruminate speculate
Etymology
From Middle English ponderen, from Old French ponderer (“to weigh, balance, ponder”) from Latin ponderāre (“to weigh, ponder”), from pondus (“weight”), from pendere (“to weigh”); see pendent and pound.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To weigh. [Obs.]
- verb To weigh in the mind; to view with deliberation; to examine carefully; to consider attentively.
- verb To think; to deliberate; to muse; --usually followed by on or over. Longfellow.
Etymology [L. ponderare, fr. pondus, ponderis, a weight, fr. pendere to weigh: cf. F. pondérer. See Pendant, and cf. Pound a weight.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ponder”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details