pablum (noun) - bland, simplistic, or empty fare, usually referring to ideas or entertainment; any easily absorbed nutritional substance [pab-luhm]
pabulum is any food or source of physical or intellectual nourishment
BREAKDOWN: The word pablum began as a brand name that was based on a word. First came pabulum, which derives from the root PA- meaning to feed or protect. Next came Pablum, the vitamin-fortified infant cereal developed in 1930 to prevent rickets and malnutrition in babies. The innocuous, easily digestible nature of Pablum inspired its adoption as a term for any bland, tasteless, or overly simplistic fare, eventually referring to insipid writing or discourse.
See also: foster
“Sentimental fiction is a kind of pablum: Excessive amounts can spoil the appetite for reality, or at least for more fibrous forms of art.” —Alice Simpson
[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]