pamper [LME] The early sense of pamper was ‘cram with food’, developing the sense’ to indulge, spoil’ in the mid 16th century. It is probably of Low German or Dutch origin and associated with German dialect pampfen ‘cram, gorge’. It may be related to pap [ME] probably based on Latin pappare ‘to eat’, describing bland, soft, or semi-liquid food. The old sense of pap for a woman’s breast could be from Latin pappilla ‘nipple’ or from a Scandinavian root imitating the sound of a baby sucking.