Pandarus

Forms

Pandarus m (genitive Pandarī); second declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It renders a Greek name, which in Homer belongs to a Lycian who fought in the Trojan War;^[3] Etymonline notes that the name may not be Greek in origin.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Virgil (70–19 BC)^[4] gives it in the fifth book of the Aeneid to a Trojan archer, the son of Lycaon,^[1][5] whom Lewis and Short call a leader of the Lycians fighting for the Trojans.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Virgil also gives the name to one of Aeneas' followers, the son of Alcanor, whom Turnus kills.^[1][2][5] Boccaccio's Italian Pandaro and Chaucer's Pandare made him the go-between for Troilus and Cressida, a story Etymonline calls a medieval invention.^[3] From Chaucer comes English pander “procurer”.^[3]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil names the Trojan archer, son of Lycaon, and a follower of Aeneas.^[1][4]
• late 14th century – Chaucer uses the name Pandare.^[3]
• 1520s – English pander “procurer” appears.^[3]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. A Trojan archer, the son of Lycaon.^[1][5]
2. A follower of Aeneas, the son of Alcanor, killed by Turnus.^[2][5][1]

Related words

• English pander

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.