ponder

English

Etymology

From Old French ponderer (“to weigh, balance, ponder”) (French pondérer), from Latin ponderare (“to weigh, ponder, in Medieval Latin also to load”), from pondus (“weight”), from pendere (“to weigh”); see pendent and pound.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɒn.də(ɹ)/

• 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, to think of deeply.
2. To consider (something) carefully and thoroughly; to chew over, to mull over.

   I have spent days pondering the meaning of life.

   • Bible, Proverbs iv. 26

     Ponder the path of thy feet.

3. (obsolete) To weigh.

Synonyms

• chew over
• mull over
• See also Thesaurus:ponder

Related terms

• ponderment
• preponder
• preponderance
• preponderant
• preponderate

Translations

to think deeply

• Armenian: մտորել (hy) (mtorel)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏓᏅᏖᏗ (adanvtedi)
• Chinese:

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

• Chuukese: ekipwichi
• Czech: přemýšlet (cs) impf
• Dutch: overwegen (nl)
• Finnish: pohtia (fi)
• French: songer (fr), réfléchir (fr)
• German: grübeln (de)
• Hebrew: הרהר‎ (hirhér)
• 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)
• Korean: 숙고하다 (sukgohada)
• Malay: merenungi
• Maori: taute, whakaaroaro
• Occitan: pensar (oc), perpensar
• Polish: dumać (pl), rozważać (pl)
• Portuguese: ponderar (pt)
• Russian: размышля́ть (ru) impf (razmyšljátʹ), размы́слить (ru) pf (razmýslitʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: meòraich, cnuasaich
• Slovene: razmišljati impf, razmisliti pf
• Spanish: considerar (es), meditar (es), cavilar (es)
• Swedish: fundera (sv), begrunda (sv)

to consider carefully

• Armenian: մտորել (hy) (mtorel)
• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: overdenken (nl)
• Finnish: pohtia (fi)
• French: s'interroger (fr)
• German: überlegen (de), nachdenken (de)
• Hungarian: latolgat (hu), fontolgat (hu), mérlegel (hu), fontolóra vesz (hu)
• Icelandic: íhuga

• Italian: ponderare (it)
• Latin: expendō (la), meditor, aspicio (la)
• Maori: taute, hurihuri
• Portuguese: ponderar (pt)
• Russian: обду́мывать (ru) impf (obdúmyvatʹ), обду́мать (ru) pf (obdúmatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: meòraich, cnuasaich
• Spanish: ponderar (es)
• Swedish: fundera (sv), grubbla (sv)

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, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• ponder in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• Penrod