1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 3 I went aboute this busynes all figures, coniurynges, saunters, charmes, wytchcrafte, and sorseryes sett a syde [tr. Tragus de Stirpium Hist., 1552, i. clxxxvi. 544 Nullis characteribus, nullis coniurationibus, nullis preculis, nulla denique superstitione usus sum, sed citra huiusmodi Magicas uanitates, etc.].

1725 E. Young Universal Passion: Satire I 13 The Tavern! Park! Assembly! Mask, and Play! Those dear Destroyers of the Tedious day! That Wheel of Fops! that Saunter of the Town! Call it Diversion, and the Pill goes down.

1712 Henley in Spectator No. 518 (ad fin.) So likewise the Belles Lettres are typified by a Saunter in the Gate;..an Insertion of one Hand in the Fobb [etc.].

1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel III. xi. ii. 238 Men who make money rarely saunter; men who save money rarely swagger. But saunter and swagger both united to stamp PRODIGAL on the Bond Street Lounger.

1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede II. iv. xxvii. 237 The other, turning round, walked slowly, with a sort of saunter, towards Adam.

1828 W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1864) II. 330 A quiet saunter about a cathedral..has the effect upon me of a walk in one of our great American forests.

1881 Lady D. Hardy Through Cities & Prairie Lands 105 In one of our saunters through the city we met two..girls.

c1475 Partenay 4653 But yut he knew noght uerray certainly, But santred and doubted uerryly Wher on was or no of this saide linage.

1548 W. Forrest Pleasaunt Poesye (MS. Reg. 17 D. iii.) f. 29, [To Edw. VI] When straungers greate yowre presence hathe none. Take of yowre nobles youe compenye too keepe: Doo not your selfe sitt santeringe alone: As wone that weare in studye most deepe.

1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall Ded. sig. A2^v I stood sauntring ouer it, like a whelp that had scalded his mouth.

1671 S. Skinner & T. Henshaw Etymologicon Linguæ Anglicanæ To Saunter up and down, à. Fr. G. Sauter, Sauteller, Saltare, Saltitare, q.d. huc illuc Saltitare seu Discurrere.

1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. Tt 2^v/2 To Saunter about, rouler en vagabond d'un côté & d'autre.

1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 78 What hast thou gotten by this Fetch?..By Santring still on some Adventure, And Growing to thy Horse a Centaure?

1691 J. Ray S. & E. Country Words in Coll. Eng. Words (ed. 2) 111 To Santer about; or go Santering up and down. It is derived from Saincte terre, i.e. The Holy Land, because of old time..many idle persons went from place to place, upon pretence that they..intended to take the Cross upon them, and to go thither.

1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cxliv. 131 The Cormorant is still Sauntering by the Sea-side, to see if he can find any of his Brass cast up.

1693 S. Harvey in J. Dryden tr. Juvenal Satires ix. 177 Tell me why saunt'ring thus from Place to Place, I meet thee (Nevolus) with a Clouded Face?

1703 R. Thoresby Let. 27 Apr. in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 427 To Sonter, to loiter, a santering or sontring body, one that squanders the time in going idly about.

1713 Guardian 26 Sept. 1/1 His Customers can saunter up and down from Corner to Corner.

1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 302 Led by my hand, he saunter'd Europe round, And gather'd ev'ry Vice on Christian ground.

1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iii. viii. 107 Mr. Harrel sauntered into the breakfast room.

1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. ii. 28 The preacher..left the church and sauntered through the streets of Woodstock.

1873 ‘Ouida’ Pascarèl II. 54 He sauntered about Florence with me.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 3 The people of hill and valley go sauntering about their business as in the days before the flood.

1932 R. Fry Let. 6 June (1972) II. 671 We sauntered through North Italy and saw a lot of lovely things.

1672 [implied in: O. Walker Of Educ. i. ix. 94 Others are to all purposes slow and sawntring. (at sauntering adj. 1a)].

1693 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §118. 146 Aversion to his Book that makes him saunter away his time of Study.

1693 [implied in: J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §116. 141 Upon the first suspicion a Father has, that his Son is of a Sauntring Temper, he must [etc.]. (at sauntering adj. 1a)].

c1731 Visct. Bolingbroke Let. in A. Pope Wks. in Prose (1741) II. 107 But I know men..who to preserve their health, saunter away half their time.

1752 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 5 Mar. (1932) (modernized text) V. 1843 Business must not be sauntered and trifled with.

1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. i. i. 11 A man commonly saunters a little in turning his hand from one sort of employment to another. View more context for this quotation

1926 D. H. Lawrence Plumed Serpent ix. 153 Sauntering the day away.

1970 Daily Tel. 14 Nov. 9/3 If you're not fond of boats you soon will be..sauntering the sunny quay, watching the gulls.