wander

wander
verb (wandered; wandering) Etymology: Middle English wandren, from Old English wandrian; akin to Middle High German wandern to wander, Old English windan to wind, twist Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to move about without a fixed course, aim, or goal b. to go idly about ; ramble <
wandering around the house
> 2. to follow a winding course ; meander 3. a. to go astray (as from a course) ; stray <
wandered away from the group
> b. to go astray morally ; err c. to lose normal mental contact ; stray in thought <
his mind wandered
> transitive verb to roam over <
wandered the halls
> • wander noun • wanderer noun Synonyms: wander, roam, ramble, rove, traipse, meander mean to go about from place to place usually without a plan or definite purpose. wander implies an absence of or an indifference to a fixed course <
fond of wandering about the square just watching the people
>. roam suggests wandering about freely and often far afield <
liked to roam through the woods
>. ramble stresses carelessness and indifference to one's course or objective <
the speaker rambled on without ever coming to the point
>. rove suggests vigorous and sometimes purposeful roaming <
armed brigands roved over the countryside
>. traipse implies a course that is erratic but may sometimes be purposeful <
traipsed all over town looking for the right dress
>. meander implies a winding or intricate course suggestive of aimless or listless wandering <
the river meanders for miles through rich farmland
>.

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Wander — bezeichnet: Wander AG, eine Schweizer Lebensmittelfirma, Tochterunternehmen von Associated British Foods einen Begriff aus der Übertragungstechnik, siehe Jitter. Wander ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Albert Wander (1818–1893),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Wander — Wan der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Wandered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wandering}.] [OE. wandren, wandrien, AS. wandrian; akin to G. wandern to wander; fr. AS. windan to turn. See {Wind} to turn.] [1913 Webster] 1. To ramble here and there without any certain …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wander — (v.) O.E. wandrian move about aimlessly, wander, from W.Gmc. *wandrojan (Cf. O.Fris. wondria, M.L.G., M.Du. wanderen, Ger. wandern to wander, a variant form of the root represented in O.H.G. wantalon to walk, wander ), from root *wend to turn… …   Etymology dictionary

  • wander — wander, stray, roam, ramble, rove, range, prowl, gad, gallivant, traipse, meander can mean to move about more or less aimlessly or without a plan from place to place or from point to point. Most of these verbs may imply walking, but most are not… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • wander — [v1] move about aimlessly aberrate, amble, circumambulate, circumlocute, circumnutate, cruise, deviate, divagate, diverge, drift, float, follow one’s nose*, gad*, gallivant*, globe trot, hike, hopscotch*, jaunt, maunder, meander, peregrinate,… …   New thesaurus

  • wander — [wän′dər] vi. [ME wandren < OE wandrian, akin to Ger wandern, akin ? to WEND, WIND1] 1. to move or go about aimlessly, without plan or fixed destination; ramble; roam 2. to go to a destination in a casual way or by an indirect route; idle;… …   English World dictionary

  • Wander — Wan der, v. t. To travel over without a certain course; to traverse; to stroll through. [R.] [Elijah] wandered this barren waste. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wander — index digress, perambulate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • wander — ► VERB 1) walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way. 2) move slowly away from a fixed point or place. ► NOUN ▪ an act or spell of wandering. DERIVATIVES wanderer noun. ORIGIN Old English, related to WEND …   English terms dictionary

  • wander — wan|der1 S3 [ˈwɔndə US ˈwa:ndər] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(without direction)¦ 2¦(move away)¦ 3¦(mind/thoughts)¦ 4¦(conversation)¦ 5 somebody s mind is wandering 6¦(eyes)¦ 7¦(road/river)¦ 8¦(hands)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [: Old English; Origin: wandrian] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • wander — I UK [ˈwɒndə(r)] / US [ˈwɑndər] verb Word forms wander : present tense I/you/we/they wander he/she/it wanders present participle wandering past tense wandered past participle wandered ** 1) [intransitive/transitive] to travel from place to place …   English dictionary

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