A rubber or plastic nipple given to babies to suck on for comfort and to quiet crying. Something that soothes or calms agitation.
From Latin pacificare meaning 'to make peaceful', with the suffix -er indicating an agent. The baby product sense developed in the early 20th century, extending the general meaning of something that brings peace or calm.
The pacifier was actually invented by accident when a pharmacist's wife tied a rubber nipple to a spoon handle in 1900, and interestingly, babies who use pacifiers show reduced risk of SIDS, though scientists still don't fully understand why!
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