ponder

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒn.də/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑn.dəɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒndə(ɹ)

Verb

ponder (third-person singular simple present ponders, present participle pondering, simple past and past participle pondered)

1. To wonder, think of deeply.
   • 2023, Sunil Santha, Climate Change, Small-Scale Fisheries, and Blue Justice: Fishscapes and Alternative Worldviews‎^[1], Taylor and Francis:

     Some days, the whole cast of crabs would come out of their holes and ponder at the Fishers as if a storm is taking form.

2. 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.

   • a. 1709 (date delivered), William Beveridge, “Sermon LXXXV. Repentance, a Certain, and the Only Method of Obtaining Pardon.”, in The Works of the Right Reverend Father in God, Dr. William Beveridge, Late Lord Bishop of St. Asaph. […], volume II, London: […] William Taylor, […], published 1720, →OCLC, page 69:

     [A]lthough thou beeſt blameleſs and unſpotted as to thy outvvard Life and Converſation, ſo that none can ſay, black is thine Eye, as to any groſs Sin; yet knovv, that God pondereth thy Heart, and ranſacketh every Corner of thy Soul, and obſerves the Motions of thoſe very Luſts that vvar vvithin thee, and prevail againſt thee.

3. (obsolete) To weigh.

Synonyms

• cogitate
• deliberate

Derived terms

• beponder
• ponderable
• ponderance
• ponderize
• reponder
• unpondered

Related terms

• ponderment
• pondersome
• preponder
• preponderance
• preponderant
• preponderate

Translations

to think deeply — see also think about

• Arabic: تَفَكَّرَ (tafakkara), فَكَّرَ (ar) (fakkara)
• Armenian: մտորել (hy) (mtorel)
• Belarusian: разважа́ць impf (razvažácʹ), разва́жыць pf (razvážycʹ), ду́маць impf (dúmacʹ), паду́маць pf (padúmacʹ)
• Bulgarian: размишля́вам (bg) impf (razmišljávam), разми́слям (bg) impf (razmísljam), разми́сля (bg) pf (razmíslja)
• Catalan: ponderar (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏗ (adanvtedi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 思考 (zh) (sīkǎo), 琢磨 (zh) (zuómo), 沈思 (zh) (chénsī), 沉思 (zh) (chénsī)

• Chuukese: ekipwichi
• Czech: přemýšlet (cs) impf
• Danish: gruble, fundere
• Dutch: overwegen (nl), overpeinzen (nl)
• Esperanto: pensi (eo)
• Finnish: pohtia (fi)
• French: songer (fr), réfléchir (fr)
• Galician: ponderar (gl), parar mentes
• German: grübeln (de)
• Hebrew: הִרְהֵר (he) (hirhér)
• Hindi: सोचना (hi) (socnā), चिंतन करना (cintan karnā), मंथन करना (manthan karnā)
• Hungarian: mereng (hu), elmereng (hu), tűnődik (hu), eltűnődik (hu), elmélkedik (hu), mérlegel (hu)
• Icelandic: íhuga
• Ido: ponderar (io), meditar (io), reflektar (io), konsiderar (io)
• Italian: ponderare (it)
• Japanese: 熟考する (ja) (じゅっこうする, jukkō suru)
• Kazakh: толғану (tolğanuw)
• Korean: 숙고하다 (sukgohada)
• Latin: dēlīberō, meditor, pensitō
• Macedonian: размислува impf (razmisluva), размисли pf (razmisli)
• Malay: merenungi (ms)
• Māori: taute, whakaaroaro
• Naga:

  Khiamniungan Naga: thólū

• Occitan: pensar (oc), perpensar (oc)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: اَنْدیشیدَن (andišidan), فِکْر کَرْدَن (fekr kardan)

• Polish: dumać (pl) impf, rozważać (pl) impf, rozważyć (pl) pf, rozmyślać (pl) impf, namyślać się impf, namyślić się pf
• Portuguese: ponderar (pt)
• Russian: размышля́ть (ru) impf (razmyšljátʹ), размы́слить (ru) pf (razmýslitʹ), заду́мываться (ru) pf (zadúmyvatʹsja), заду́маться (ru) pf (zadúmatʹsja), ду́мать (ru) impf (dúmatʹ), поду́мать (ru) pf (podúmatʹ)
• Sanskrit: मन्यते (sa) (manyate)
• Scottish Gaelic: meòraich, cnuasaich
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: разми́шљати impf, ра̀змислити pf

  Latin: razmíšljati (sh) impf, ràzmisliti (sh) pf

• Slovak: premýšľať impf
• Slovene: razmišljati impf, razmisliti pf
• Spanish: considerar (es), meditar (es), cavilar (es), discurrir (es)
• Swedish: fundera (sv), begrunda (sv), grunna (sv)
• Tamil: யோசி (ta) (yōci)
• Turkish: düşünüp taşınmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: розмірко́вувати impf (rozmirkóvuvaty), розміркува́ти pf (rozmirkuváty), ду́мати (uk) impf (dúmaty), поду́мати pf (podúmaty)
• Urdu: سوچْنا (socnā)

to consider carefully — see also analyze

• Arabic:

  Gulf Arabic: مخمخ (maḵmaḵ)

• Armenian: մտորել (hy) (mtorel)
• Belarusian: абмярко́ўваць impf (abmjarkówvacʹ), абмеркава́ць pf (abmjerkavácʹ), абду́мваць impf (abdúmvacʹ), абду́маць pf (abdúmacʹ)
• Bulgarian: обми́слям (bg) impf (obmísljam), обми́сля (bg) pf (obmíslja)
• Catalan: ponderar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 思考 (zh) (sīkǎo), 考慮 / 考虑 (zh) (kǎolǜ)

• Danish: tænke efter
• Dutch: overdenken (nl)
• Esperanto: pripensi
• Finnish: pohtia (fi)
• French: s'interroger (fr)
• Galician: ponderar (gl), parar mentes
• German: überlegen (de), nachdenken (de)
• Hindi: विचारना (hi) (vicārnā), चिंतन करना (cintan karnā)
• Hungarian: latolgat (hu), fontolgat (hu), mérlegel (hu), fontolóra vesz (hu)
• Icelandic: íhuga
• Italian: ponderare (it)
• Latin: expendō (la), meditor, aspicio (la)
• Māori: taute, hurihuri
• Polish: zastanawiać się impf, zastanowić się pf
• Portuguese: ponderar (pt)
• Russian: обду́мывать (ru) impf (obdúmyvatʹ), обду́мать (ru) pf (obdúmatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: meòraich, cnuasaich
• Spanish: ponderar (es), sopesar (es)
• Swedish: fundera (sv), grubbla (sv), grunna (sv)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: طارتمق (tartmak)

• Ukrainian: обду́мувати (uk) impf (obdúmuvaty), обду́мати pf (obdúmaty), обмірко́вувати impf (obmirkóvuvaty), обміркува́ти pf (obmirkuváty)

Noun

ponder (plural ponders)

1. (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.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “ponder”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Penrod, podner, proned

Middle English

Etymology

From Latin ponderis, pondere, etc., inflected forms of pondus (“weight”).

Noun

ponder (plural ponders)

1. (glassblowing) A fourteenth-century unit of glass.

   Coordinate terms: shev, wyspe

Related terms

• ponderen