Pablum

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpæbləm/

Definitions

1. Bland, simplistic, or uninteresting material or ideas lacking substance ; a soft, easily digestible cereal food meant for infants made from cooked and processed grains
2. Material or ideas that are dull, trivial, or lacking in stimulating qualities ; a commercial baby food cereal composed of ground cereals designed to be easy to eat
3. Content that is weak, uninspired, or too simplistic to hold interest ; a type of mushy breakfast cereal for babies made from refined grain products

Etymology: Pablum was originally a brand name, not a dictionary word. In 1931, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, working with the American company Mead Johnson & Company, developed a powdered food supplement for malnourished infants, and the name was trademarked in the United States the following year. The product was a bland, easily digested cereal, and its blandness gave the name its later sense. The name is probably a shortening of Latin "pābulum," meaning "fodder for animals" or "food, nourishment." That word comes from "pascō," "to feed, to drive to pasture," which goes back to a very old root meaning "to protect" or "to shepherd." The suffix "-bulum" denotes an instrument, so the Latin word literally names something used for feeding. Once the cereal was widely known, "pablum" was applied figuratively to anything bland and simplistic, especially writing, entertainment, or ideas that offer no real challenge. A baby's food had become a metaphor for intellectual mush.

Synonyms: blandness, insipidity, nonsense

Antonyms: substance, richness