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nam·by-pam·by (nămbē-pămbē)
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adj.
1. Weak, sentimental, or unrealistic: "life as it was really lived, you know, not as described in namby-pamby self-help books" (Megan Hustad).
2. Lacking vigor or decisiveness; weak or spineless: accused by conservatives of being a namby-pamby liberal.
n. pl. nam·by-pam·bies
One that is weak, sentimental, or indecisive.

[After Namby-Pamby, a satire on the poetry of Ambrose Philips (1674-1749) by Henry Carey (1687?-1743).]

Word History: Today, the 18th-century poet Ambrose Philips is more well-known for sharp satirical attacks leveled against him by his contemporaries Henry Carey and Alexander Pope than for any lines of poetry that he ever wrote himself. In lampooning some overly precious verse on the subject of children that Philips had composed, Carey called Philips by the nickname Namby Pamby: "So the Nurses get by Heart Namby Pamby's Little Rhimes." The first part of Namby Pamby came from Amby, or Ambrose. Pamby was made to rhyme with Namby by using the initial of Philips's surname. Pope then used the name in the 1729 edition of his satirical epic The Dunciad. After being popularized by Pope, namby-pamby went on to be used generally for people or things that are sentimental or weak.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.