α. 1600s– ramble.
β. English regional (Cumberland) 1800s– rammel; Scottish 1700s– rammle.
ramblen.
/ˈrambl/, U.S. /ˈræmb(ə)l/ 1.
a. An act of rambling; a walk or wander (formerly: any excursion or journey) without definite route or other aim than recreation or pleasure; (now) esp. one taken in the country.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering > instance of
rangec1450
rovec1550
vagary1577
ramble1639
roam1666
vagrancy1763
wander1843
peramble1933
bimble1980
1639 J. Taylor Iuniper Lect. xii. 121 A Lecture of a woman to her husband in the morning as soone as he awakes, for a ramble o're night.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. xx. 268 Witches are confin'd in their night rambles, to egge shels.
1662 S. Pepys Diary 30 June (1970) III. 126 So through bridge to Black-friars and home—she being much pleased with the ramble—in every perticular of it.
1725 G. Berkeley Let. 15 Oct. in Wks. (1871) IV. 115 I have been these five weeks in a ramble through England.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1776 II. 28 Next morning..we set out in a post-chaise to pursue our ramble.
1810 G. Crabbe Borough xxiv. 335 Then Walks were made, Not a sweet Ramble, but a slow Parade.
1854 Baroness Bunsen in A. J. C. Hare Life & Lett. Baroness Bunsen (1879) II. iv. 173 A most delightful ramble up a dell.
1903 H. Keller Story of my Life xi. 43 My teacher and I would start after breakfast for a ramble in the woods.
1956 R. Ellison Let. 18 May in R. Ellison & A. Murray Trading Twelves (2000) 131 The air and the sights transform it into something almost as good as fried chicken on a Juneteenth ramble in the woods.
1990 J. Halperin Novelists in their Youth ii. 64 His father, a great walker, often took the boy along on his rambles.
b. In extended use: a wandering progress (through); a diversion.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > [noun] > deviation from straight course > the action of
digression1552
ramble1650
1650 T. Vaughan Anthroposophia Theomagica To Rdr. They are..not meer Vagaries, and Rambles of the Braine.
1659 H. More Immortality of Soul iii. xiv. §10. 479 This wild and audacious ramble from a more secure state.
1690 H. Maurice Remarks from Country 11 This ramble of imagination is not altogether a Dream.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 57 We had spent near another Year in these Rambles, and in this Piece of Work.
1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 47 A brook,—whose silver ramble..Tracing along, it brought me to a cave.
1996 Time Out 31 July 178/4 Why was [he] allowed to wibble on about the London Broncos v St Helens game?.. We were presented with a ramble through his preconceptions about Rugby League.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [noun] > disconnectedness > disconnected writing or discourse
riot1340
scrabblementa1603
cockalane1627
ramble1694
maunder1835
maundering1853
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 144 Put off with Ramble, and confused Talk, Babble, and Tautology.
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 216 Their Prayers; so full of Ramble, and Inconsequence.
Phrases
on (also upon) the ramble: engaged in rambling.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > travelling from place to place [phrase] > wandering
on (also upon) the gad1628
on (also upon) the ramble1664
1664 G. Etherege Comical Revenge 53 Grace. You are a very bold Lover. Cul. Widow, let you and I go upon the ramble To night.
1668 T. Shadwell Sullen Lovers v. iii, in G. Saintsbury Thomas Shadwell (1907) 109 'Tis a sweet time of night to go out upon the ramble.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical iii. 19 I will set both his and my Imagination on the Ramble.
1733 J. Swift Corr. (1841) II. 714 Since I left that place..I have been still upon the ramble.
1792 C. Smith Desmond III. 167 I..shall be upon the ramble for some time.
1807 C. Smith Beachy Head 76 For now her mate again was on the ramble.
a1879 J. B. Buckstone Flowers of Forest (1890) 25 She'll be here immediately, and sooner if possible. We've been out on the ramble together.
1922 A. Thomas Print of Remembrance x. 179 I roamed the corridors and rotundas,..and on the ramble drifted into the Supreme Court room.
1982 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 20 Aug. a17/1 These are not Okies on the ramble after work,..but rather, in many cases, Americans from northernmost Michigan propelled by fuel..to southernmost Florida.
1996 M. A. Doody True Story of Novel ii. ix. 185 Whether on the ramble or seeking a fleece..characters in narrative fiction..are constantly given to traveling.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
ramblev.
/ˈrambl/, U.S. /ˈræmb(ə)l/α. late Middle English 1600s– ramble, 1800s– romble (English regional (Cheshire) and (Shropshire)).
β. 1600s ramel; English regional 1800s– ram'le (northern), 1800s– rammel (northern), 1800s– ramm'le (Yorkshire), 1800s– rammle (Yorkshire); Scottish 1800s rammel, 1800s rammil, 1900s– ramlle, 1900s– rammle.
1.
a. intransitive. With reference to mental pursuits or studies: to contemplate in an unsystematic manner, often without a definite aim; to wander, to digress.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > wander in thought [verb (intransitive)] > proceed aimlessly
ramblec1443
mope1568
niff-naff1728
moon1763
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 11 (MED) He schal ramble and wandre, seching hym silf now in oon kinde, now in an oþer kynde, of contemplable maters.
1621 F. Quarles Hadassa xvii. sig. L4v Me list not ramble into antique dayes.
1650 T. Vaughan Anthroposophia Theomagica 2 I studied several Arts, and ramel'd over all those Inventions which the folly of man call'd Sciences.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. Ep. Ded. Then I rambled over all these Mathematical Inventions.
1726 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. (1752) v. 140 We must not ramble in this field without discernment or choice, nor even with these must we ramble too long.
1812 Theatr. Inquisitor 1 273 The majority of readers..ramble through books as post-boys ride through towns..and..can tell you as little of the contents as those who carry the mail-bags can of the letters.
1893 Cent. Mag. June 298/2 He had a pretty taste for Barrow.., he rambled through him from time to time, penciling his winged adjectives.
1950 R. Schorling & G. M. Wingo Elem. School Student Teaching (1960) i. 11 Do not ask the kind of question which puts the answer in the child's mouth. Leave room for him to ramble around in his speculations.
1997 D. Stern Man on Dump by Wallace Stevens in H. Raz Prairie Schooner (1998) 37 He rambled through the book of poems.
b. intransitive. With reference to physical pursuits: to wander or travel in a free, unrestrained manner, without a definite aim or direction. Now also (chiefly British): to walk for pleasure through the countryside, frequently in company and on a specified route. Frequently with about.Formerly occasionally with to be (cf. quot. 1754).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (intransitive)] > with no fixed aim or wander
wharvec890
woreOE
wandera1000
rengec1230
wagc1325
roamc1330
errc1374
raikc1390
ravec1390
rumblec1400
rollc1405
railc1425
roit1440
waverc1440
rangea1450
rove1481
to-waver1487
vaguea1525
evague1533
rangle1567
to go a-strayinga1586
vagary1598
divagate1599
obambulate1614
vagitate1614
ramble1615
divage1623
pererrate1623
squander1630
peramble1632
rink1710
ratch1801
browse1803
vagrate1807
bum1857
piroot1858
scamander1864
truck1864
bat1867
vagrant1886
float1901
vagulate1918
pissant1945
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > go on foot [verb (intransitive)] > for exercise or recreation > hike or ramble
ramble1711
hike1867
stram1869
1615 T. Adams Mystical Bedlam ii. 49 How many of these mad-men ramble about this City?
1620 T. Peyton Paradise in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign James I (1848) 178 Hauing rambled in the sacred keele About the world.
1672 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 521 I go tomorrow towards Italy, where I will ramble for two or three months.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 96. ⁋2 I..went out of the House to ramble wherever my Feet would carry me.
1754 Bp. W. Warburton Lett. (1809) 165 He is rambled into Staffordshire.
1807 Salmagundi 19 Sept. 296 A delightful piece of wood and water, where he might ramble on a summer's noon.
1880 L. Stephen Alexander Pope iv. 89 He was often rambling about on horseback.
1938 F. S. Anthony in D. M. Davin N.Z. Short Stories (1953) 219 I hooked off on my own and rambled aimlessly about.
1970 J. S. Huxley Memories (1972) xv. 207 We rambled about the coast in search of rare ferns and flowers.
1995 Minnesota Monthly Apr. 77/1 It's a wonderful way to ramble. This region of Wisconsin is so far off the beaten path it's practically invisible to most travelers.
c. intransitive. Of a thing: to move or extend without aim or direction; to wander, to roam; to sprawl.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > grow in a specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > climb, creep, or spread
spreadc1300
runc1425
creep1530
ramp1578
clamber1601
couch1601
crawl1637
gad1638
climb1796
ramble1858
1615 T. Adams Mystical Bedlam ii. 58 [The Usurer] sits close, and is quiet at home, while madnesse rambles abroad.
1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. i. sig. Aa1 My roving Thoughts were in various Dreams, rambling to distant places.
1726 J. Barker Lining of Patch-work Screen 10 Thus a thousand Thoughts rambled in my Head, all the while keeping a spiteful Eye on my beautiful Deceiver.
1784 W. Cullen First Lines Pract. Physic (ed. 4) IV. ii. iv. ii. 145 The mind rambles from one subject to another.
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 61 The Stream.., As through the glen it rambles, Repeats a moan.
1858 G. Glenny Gardener's Every-day Bk. (new ed.) 37/1 If they [sc. plants] be neglected until they have rambled about.
1897 Cent. Mag. Dec. 186/2 As his eye rambled over the lays of shepherds chanting the praises of their fair, a smile came upon his lips.
1934 H. Roth Call it Sleep iii. iv. 222 His thoughts rambled absently between the confines of the drone of the voice and the drone of the rain.
1990 Daily Tel. 28 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 9/2 It is set in six acres of woodland and garden which ramble down to foreshore.
2. intransitive. To wander freely in speech or writing; (now more usually) to write or talk in an aimless, incoherent, or inconsequential fashion, without an ordered sequence of ideas. Also with on.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > wander in thought [verb (intransitive)]
wanderc1400
transcur1528
gad1538
rove1549
ramble1616
to go, or to be, a-wandering1700
run1801
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > be talkative [verb (intransitive)] > ramble or waffle
blether1524
spout1556
ramble1616
extravage1759
maunder1834
mumble-jumble1834
moider1839
gander1858
mither1860
burble1891
flap-doodle1893
waffle1900
bumble1911
wibble1994
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > use inelegant language [verb (intransitive)] > write or discourse disconnectedly
to jump from cock to ass1549
ramble1616
1616 R. Anton Philosophers Satyrs 45 Make my Muse ramble, that it truly tell The scapes of lust, that in thy influence dwell.
1654 R. Hubberthorn Reply Blind Guides of Eng. 10 In thy answer to this querie, thou ramblest up and downe, with many words to justifie that which Christ cried woe against.
1692 tr. C. de Saint-Évremond Misc. Ess. 27 I should then ramble from the Subject I have proposed to my self.
1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 21 Oct. (1948) I. 66 My pen is apt to ramble when I think who I am writing to.
1761 F. Sheridan Mem. Miss Sidney Bidulph I. 294 How I ramble from my subject!
1825 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 29 Oct. 286 He rambled on in a childish sort of way.
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. xi. 179 He rambled off into a long jumble of medical-officers.
1929 R. Hughes High Wind in Jamaica vii. 169 She preferred letting them ramble on, to asking questions or trying to fit things together.
1995 Scotsman 18 Oct. 16/6 In the play..an ageing architect rambles at great length about the ‘troll’ theory of art.
3. transitive. To wander over (a place, region, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (transitive)] > wander (one's way, etc.) > wander in, over, or about
peramble1508
rove1537
wander?1573
enrange1596
roam1603
stray1613
ramble1679
raika1730
overwander1821
pervagate1871
1679 J. Davies tr. Appian Hist. ii. iv. 196 He was retreated towards the Ocean, at the Head of a few Highway-Men, with whom he rambled the Country.
1685 J. Crowne Sir Courtly Nice sig. A2 That I may enjoy the little fortune I have got with the better reputation, and not ramble the World like a blind Author.
1697 View Relig. of Town in Poems on Affairs of State ii. 66 And then we agreed in the Close To let Wording alone, And Ramble the Town, To see how Religion grows.
1786 J. Burgoyne Heiress ii. i. 34 After rambling half the world over without harm, he is caught like a travell'd woodcock, at his landing.
1810 E. Weeton Let. 4 June (1969) I. 265 If my time were my own, [I] would ramble the country over.
1825 in W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 291 I ramble the rough highland hills.
1892 New Eng. Mag. Nov. 354/2 Helping her carefully along the rough little path which rambled the half mile from the cliffs to the main road.
1930 V. Woolf Death of Moth (1942) 19 The greatest pleasure of town life in winter—rambling the streets of London.
1954 G. Lamming Emigrants (1955) 192 In another climate, at another time, they would ramble the streets yarning and singing.
2004 P. Monaghan Red-haired Girl from Bog ii. 16 Days spent rambling the countryside, evenings spent in the company of friends.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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