Pardner

[Stargzer]

Many people should be familiar with a hearty "Howdy, pardner!" done in a western drawl, but I was a bit surprised to find this listed in several dictionaries as a variant spelling of partner. I always figured it for an unofficial pronunciation spelling.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

pardner

SYLLABICATION: pard·ner
PRONUNCIATION: pärd'nr
NOUN: Regional A partner, companion, or friend.
ETYMOLOGY: Variant of partner.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

[Flaminius]

Is there no connection with pardon? If one's partners are too acquiescent to raise a question to the worse of your nonchalance, they are pardoners in offence.