wandern.
/ˈwɒndə/, U.S. /ˈwɑndər/ 1. An act of wandering.
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
1843 J. C. Shairp Let. 3 Aug. in E. H. Coleridge Life & Corr. Ld. Coleridge (1894) I. vi. 134 I should like, so, to have one day's wander with you amongst these hills.
1872 C. Kingsley Delectable Day in Poems iii The afternoon's wander to windward, To meet the dear boy coming back.
1899 H. Wright Depopulation xii. 66 You and Allan will go away on a world-wide wander all by yourselves.
1910 E. A. Sharp William Sharp vii. 121 One sunset I remember specially. We had gone for a wander westward.
2. A gradual change in the orientation of a gyroscope or other spinning body, esp. the earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > [noun] > changing to face different direction or turning > change in orientation of spinning body
wander1930
1930 Engineering 7 Mar. 323/2 The static gyro-compass did not wander during a week's trials more than about 1 deg..per day. The wandering was always in the same direction,..but the rate of wander varied slightly with alterations of the course.
1963 C. A. Williams Aircraft Instrument Control Syst. ii. 23 In moving a gyroscope from the North Pole to the South Pole the apparent wander would change from clockwise to anti~clockwise.
1971 Q. Jrnl. Royal Astron. Soc. 12 61 (heading) Polar wander and/or plate tectonics in the Palaeozoic.
1980 Nature 28 Feb. 845/1 The ∼1,100 Myr Grenville mobile belt of the Laurentian (North American) Shield yields a record of uplift magnetisations defining a closed apparent polar wander (APW) loop.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wanderv.
/ˈwɒndə/, U.S. /ˈwɑndər/ I. Intransitive senses. Formerly often conjugated with to be.
1.
a. Of persons or animals: To move hither and thither without fixed course or certain aim; to be (in motion) without control or direction; to roam, ramble, go idly or restlessly about; to have no fixed abode or station.
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
a1000 Fight at Finnesburg (Gr.) 36 Hræfen wandrode sweart and sealobrun.
c1000 Ags. Laws, Instit. Polity xiv, in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. II. 322 [Hi] maciað eall be luste..woriað & wandriað, & ealne dæg fleardiað.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 35 Vre fo þat is þe deuel wuandreð abuten us.
c1275 Laȝamon Brut 7241 And Cesar wende in Flandres lond, wandrenge bi see strond.
c1290 Beket 69 in S. Eng. Leg. 108 In Manie stretes heo hadde i-wandret.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. x. 207 Bote wandren as wolues and wasten ȝif þei mouwen.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xxviiiv Having knowledge that diuerse pirates wer wanderyng on the cost of Englande.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 330 With thame ane thousand, and ma, of fensabill men War wanderand all the nicht ouir.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. vi. 43 With Cayne go wander through shades of night. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 20 On th' Aleian Field I fall Erroneous, there to wander and forlorne. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 112 Oft the Flocks, without a Leader stray;..Whole Months they wander, grazing as they go. View more context for this quotation
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 90. ¶3 If one did believe that the departed Souls of Men and Women wandered up and down these lower Regions.
1751 T. Gray Elegy iii. 5 The mopeing owl does to the moon complain Of such, as wand'ring near her secret bow'r, Molest her ancient solitary reign.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 596 Hitherto he seems to have wandered from place to place with no other object than that of collecting troops.
1864 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire vi. 115 Frederick III., chased from his capital by the Hungarians, is wandering from convent to convent, an imperial beggar.
1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon II. 15 The ladies were wandering in the garden.
b. figurative and in figurative context.
ΚΠ
a1175 Cott. Hom. 243 Þas þri fihteð agen elcen ileafful man alse longe se we iðese westen of þesser woruld wandrið.
1357 Lay Folks' Catech. 317 And so þis chirche has þre statys be processe of tyme. Fyrst he wandrys here in erthe, and sethen he slepys in purgatory.
c1400 Pety Job 297 in 26 Pol. Poems 130 And ofte hym wanteth goddys lore,..And thus he wandreth in a were, As a man blynde, and may nat se.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. ix. f. 43 The people of the Ilande..wandered in the ignorance and blyndenes of humane nature.
1653 J. Taylor Certain Trav. Uncertain Journey 8 Some few do travell in the wayes Divine, Some wander wildly with the Muses nine.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 331 In Fancy's Maze that wand'ring not too long, He stoop'd to Truth, and moraliz'd his song.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 245 [He] can have his talk out, and wander at will from one subject to another.
c. with adverb, as about, up and down.
ΚΠ
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. ix. 326 Tho wolde wastour nat worche bote wandrede aboute.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 515/1 Wandryn a-bowte, vagor, girovagor.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 771/1 How sayest thou, is this a good lyfe to wander up and downe on this maner.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxvjv The pore wretch wandred vp and downe with .vi. children.
1598 Mucedorus iv. ii. 88 Doubtlesse she hath lost her selfe within these woods And wandring too and fro she seekes the well, Which yet she cannot finde.
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 33. ⁋11 Multitudes wandering about they knew not whither, in quest they knew not of what.
1866 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighb. (1878) xiii. 245 I used now to wander about in the fields and woods.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues IV. 509 I wander up and down, and being in perplexity am always changing my opinion.
d. quasi-transitive with cognate object. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [verb (transitive)] > wander (one's way, etc.)
wandera1400
rove1610
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 17232 Foluand þat flexs þat es mi fa, Mi wai i wander in-to wa.
1796 R. Burns Auld Lang Syne iii, in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum V. 426 We've wander'd mony a weary fitt.
1820 W. Scott tr. Noble Moringer in Edinb. Ann. Reg. 1816 9 ii. p. ccccxcviii I've wander'd many a weary step, my strength is well nigh done.
e. To go or take one's way casually or without predetermined route; to go to a place by a devious and leisurely course; to stroll, saunter. Also with forth, out.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > in leisurely manner
wandera1616
whig1689
slope1851
tool1862
poodle1938
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. vi. 70 Let me imbrace with old Vincentio, And wander we to see thy honest sonne, Who will of thy arriuall be full ioyous. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 502 And when Night Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons Of Belial. View more context for this quotation
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1650 (1955) III. 15 At the Rolls heard a sermon..& in the afternoone wander'd to divers Churches.
1715 D. Defoe Family Instructor I. i. Introd. 6 The Father walking out into a Field behind his Garden, finds one of his Children wandred out all alone.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxvi. 235 And now there remained but to take leave of the poor schoolmaster and wander forth once more.
1874 R. Buchanan Poet. Wks. I. 56 Till, sweet with greenness, moonlight-kiss'd, she wanders home again.
1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. iii. 28 Here and there could be seen the cattle wandering idly homeward.
f. The earlier Wycliffite version of the Bible, and Wyclif himself in his sermons, frequently use wander to render the ambulare of the Vulgate both in literal and figurative use; in the later version this is rare, walke or go being used instead.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > go on foot [verb (intransitive)]
treadc897
stepc900
goeOE
gangOE
walka1375
wanderc1380
foota1425
to take to footc1440
awalkc1540
trade1547
beat it on the hoof1570
pad1610
to be (also beat, pad) upon the hoofa1616
trample1624
to pad (also pad upon) the hoof1683
ambulate1724
shank1773
stump it1803
pedestrianize1811
pedestrianate1845
tramp it1862
ankle1916
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 301 And so seiþ Mathew þat Crist wandride [1382 walkyng] bi þe water of Galile.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 348 Þus Poul biddiþ men, Waundre [so 1382; 1388 walke ȝe] in spirit, and do not fulle desires of þe fleishe.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John v. 8 Jhesu seith to him, Ryse vp, taak thi bed, and wandre [a1425 L.V. go]. And a non the man is maad hool, and took vp his bed, and wandride [a1425 L.V. wente forth].
2. indirect passive.1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows ii. ii. 85 We poets, wandered round by dreams.
a. Of an inanimate thing: To travel, move, or be carried about in an uncertain course; to stray. literal and figurative. Also spec. in Pathology and Physiology (cf. wandering adj.).
ΚΠ
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxvi. §3 Se [sc. Saturnes steorra] wandraþ ofer oðrum steorrum ufor þonne ænig oðer tungol.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 24857 Þai lete it wandir vp and dun, þair scip ai redi for to drun.
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. 58 Sir, your Letter hath runne great hazards before it arrived here; It wandred about seaven moneths together.
1764 R. Whytt Observ. Nervous Disorders (1767) 151 In some, the gout wanders through the whole body.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 301 It seems that, in this Committee, which continued to sit many days, the debates wandered over a vast space.
1868 H. H. Milman Ann. St. Paul's Cathedral xix. 480 Thomas Newton's monument wandered to another Church.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 487 W. C. Brown of Penang has described (with others) a very peculiar phase in which the œdema beginning in the feet or hands ‘wandered’ up the limb.
1904 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 10 Sept. 597 The great number of cells which are found wandering far and wide in the sub~mucosa.
1909 J. W. Jenkinson Exper. Embryol. iv. 185 In the next stage the clear vegetative cells derived (presumably) from the micromeres wander in to form the primary mesenchyme.
b. Of persons, with reference to movement of part of the body only.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > change direction of movement [verb (intransitive)] > move without fixed course > of person with reference to bodily part
wander1726
1726 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey V. xxiv. 374 He seiz'd him with a strict embrace, With thousand kisses wander'd o'er his face.
1831 G. P. R. James Philip Augustus xix The hand which held the letter before his eyes dropped to his side; and with the fingers of the other he wandered thoughtfully over his brow.
c. Of rumours, current opinions, etc.: To be in circulation (on uncertain evidence or authority). Also †to wander it.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publish or spread abroad [verb (intransitive)] > spread or be current
springOE
spreadc1300
to go abouta1325
quicka1400
risea1400
runa1400
walkc1400
stir1423
voice1429
fly1480
to go abroad1513
to come abroad1525
wandera1547
divulge1604
to get abroad1615
to take aira1616
to make (also do) the rounds1669
to get about1740
reach1970
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Aii The fame wherof so wandred it at point.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxliv And this immaginacion in especiall, wandred through the heddes of all men.
1831 W. L. Bowles Life Bp. Ken II. Introd. 7 I am informed by..the Bishop of Hereford,..that there wandered, in his early days, another report of this story.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 515 There was no evidence which could be laid before a jury or a court martial: but strange whispers wandered about the camp.
d. Of the eyes: To turn this way and that; to rove. Hence, of the vision: To pass (idly or restlessly) from one point to another; to traverse a field of view (erratically or vaguely).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look around > of eyes: to wander
rangea1547
wander?1575
rove?1577
slide1757
?1575 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) 355 After the manner of a Drunkarde, that venteth for the best wine: so do mine eyes stare and wander to find out some old Sepulture.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 25 His eyes must wander about every workmans hands.
1704 J. Pitts True Acct. Mohammetans vi. 42 Fixing their Eyes on the Ground just before them, not in the least gadding or wandring with their Eyes.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. i. 25 Their eyes wandered over the glorious scene.
1847 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) xlii. 420 Mr. Dombey..looked round at the pictures on the walls. Cursorily as his cold eye wandered over them, Carker's keen glance accompanied his.
1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 251 As the eye of the visitor wanders curiously over its ample dimensions.
e. Of the mind, thoughts, desires, etc. (usually personified, and conceived as moving without the direction of reason or will towards, or about, the objects of their consideration): To move (hither and thither) uncontrolled.
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 > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > lack of concentration, distraction > be distracted [verb (intransitive)]
wanderc1400
to lose one's head1798
c1400 Pety Job 471 in 26 Pol. Poems 136 My thoughtes wandre wyde whare, For they ben, lorde, full variaunte.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. KKKviv They wyll nat lette their myndes..wauer or wander abrode.
1577 J. Grange Garden in Golden Aphroditis sig. Rijv Where are thy wittes..? If so they wandring be abrode, then call them home againe.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 2 If my thoughts haue wandred, I must intreat the wel-bred Reader to remember, I haue wandred through many deserts.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 148 Those thoughts that wander through Eternity, To perish rather. View more context for this quotation
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the First 7 Why wanders wretched Thought their tombs around, In infidel distress?
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xxii. 231 Then his mind reverted to Mrs. Martha Bardell; and from that lady it wandered, by a natural process, to the dingy counting-house of Dodson and Fogg.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 55 The mind was wandering, as it often does On the dim verge of life.
1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Children iv. 25 Her poor, anxious, distraught mind wandering hither and thither in the bewildering mazes of delirium.
f. Of rivers, roads, etc.: To pursue a devious or circuitous course; to wind, meander.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > change direction > turn or bend > bend or wind
twine1553
crankle1598
crinklea1600
creek1610
straggle1612
wind1613
serpentize1699
wander1747
serpentine1767
meander1785
zigzag1787
serpentinize1791
twister1872
snake1875
twist1879
1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 3 Wanders the hoary Thames along His Silver-winding Way.
1831 G. P. R. James Philip Augustus xxxiii The hills which confine the course of the Seine fall back..and leave it to wander through a wide rich valley.
1858 C. Kingsley My Winter-garden in Misc. (1860) I. 144 You will find..‘deep glooms and sudden glories’, in every foot-broad rill which wanders through the turf.
1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. vi. 16 There fountains sprang, and runnels wandered clean.
g. Of a gyroscope or other spinning body: to undergo a gradual change in orientation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > point or lie in a direction [verb (intransitive)] > change direction (of spinning body)
wander1930
1930 Engineering 7 Mar. 323/2 The static gyro-compass did not wander during a week's trials more than about 1 deg..per day. The wandering was always in the same direction,..but the rate of wander varied slightly with alterations of the course.
1958 Listener 13 Nov. 779/2 The gyroscope will wander at the slightest hint of imperfection in its manufacture or assembly.
3.
a. Of persons (or things completely, or in part, personified): To deviate from a given path, or determined course; to turn aside from a mark or object proposed; to stray from one's home or company, or from protection or control.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > stray or go astray
dwelec900
miswendOE
to fare astray (misliche, amiss)c1175
to step astray, awry, beside1297
weyec1315
outrayc1330
strayc1330
waivea1375
forvay1390
outwandera1400
stragglea1425
waverc1485
wander?1507
swerve1543
wift?a1560
random1561
estray1572
egar1584
to go a-strayinga1586
to step aside1787
err1819
moider1839
maverick1910
?1507 Ballad of Kynd Kittok in W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen sig. b.ivv And sa to hevin the hieway dreidles scho wend Ȝit scho wanderit and ȝeid by to ane elriche well.
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Aberro, to erre or wander very moche.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. iii. 53 If the Moone should wander from her beaten way.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 95 When the Planets, In euill mixture to disorder wander . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Deut. xxvii. 18 Cursed be hee that maketh the blinde to wander out of the way. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 205 One day..he hunted and wandring from his company lost himselfe.
a1761 W. Law Comfort Weary Pilgrim (1809) 123 For every son of Adam has everything in him that is said of that prodigal, he has lost his first state and condition, as he did, is wandered as far from his heavenly father and country.
1875 F. H. A. Scrivener 6 Lect. Text New Test. 5 His eye may have wandered from one line to another.
1888 R. L. Stevenson Black Arrow i. vii. 87 It became difficult to choose a path, and the lads somewhat wandered.
1905 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Sept. 292/1 It is impossible to wander in an avenue.
b. figurative or in figurative context: Of persons (also of the mind, thoughts, desires, etc. personified): To turn aside from a purpose, from a determined course of conduct, or train of thought; to digress; to pass out of the control of reason or conscience; to fall into error (moral or intellectual), etc. Often with away, off, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > act wrongly or immorally [verb (intransitive)] > err or go wrong or astray
misfareeOE
wanderc897
dwelec900
miswendOE
misfereOE
misnimc1225
failc1290
to go willa1300
misgoc1300
misstepc1300
errc1315
strayc1325
folly1357
wryc1369
crookc1380
miscarryc1390
ravec1390
astray1393
forloinc1400
delire?a1475
to go wrong?1507
to tread the shoe awrya1542
swerve1576
prevaricate1582
tread awrya1625
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > turn aside from a course of action
wanderc897
haltc900
flitc1175
misdrawc1300
err1303
convertc1374
foldc1380
stray1390
astray1393
swaver?a1400
to fall from ——a1425
recedec1450
depart1535
swervea1547
fag1555
flinch1578
exorbitate1600
extravagate1600
discoasta1677
tralineate1700
aberrate1749
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care liii. 415 Ðonne hwelces monnes mod..færð swa wandriende from his hade & of his endebyrdnesse [L. extra ordinem proprium vagatur].
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 249 And many of them wrongly wandrynge from the ryghtnes of faythe.
1565 J. Hall Courte of Vertue 29 b That each estate May vnderstande howe farre awrye They wandred be from righteousnes, The lyuing God that doe denye.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 27 I may for some things true, wherein my youth Hath faulty wandred, and irregular, Find pardon on my true submission. View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. i. 137 Madam, you wander from the good We ayme at. View more context for this quotation
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 11 It is then expedient that we should not wander, but rather follow a setled short way, easie both for learners and teachers.
1668 J. Owen Nature Indwelling-sin v. 47 Look to thy self, take care of thy affections, they will be gadding and wandring, and that from their aversation to what thou hast in hand.
1716 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 14 Sept. (1965) I. 262 I have so far wander'd from the Discipline of the Church of England to have been last Sunday at the Opera.
1734 W. Whiston tr. in Six Diss. i. 21 So far was his Mind wander'd from the right way, that even he was not a Believer, as to what he himself said.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xlii. 142 Having travelled thus far in the high road of matter of fact, I may now be permitted to wander a little into the field of imagination.
1879 M. E. Braddon Cloven Foot x John Treverton, smoking his cigar, and letting his thoughts wander away at a tangent every now and then.
1898 F. Montgomery Tony i. 21 She could not read her novel with any peace of mind; and she found her attention wandering from it.
1911 R. R. Marett Anthropol. 173 But we must not wander off into questions of origin. It is enough..to have noted the fact that, [etc.].
4. Of persons: To be unsettled, or incoherent, in mind, purpose, etc. Hence, later, to be temporarily disordered in mind, as from illness or exhaustion affecting the brain; to be delirious, or (with especial reference to the resulting incoherence of speech) to ramble, rave, talk wildly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [verb (intransitive)] > be delirious or rave
ravea1325
varya1525
wanderc1540
delire1575
to speak bandog and Bedlam1600
taver1808
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8885 Oft [I] wandrit, & woke, & in my wit caste; And my person enpayret, pynet me sore, For thes lordes þat I lede, and the ledis all.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10097 The buerne to his bed buskit anon,..And lay in his loge, litill he sleppit, But wandrit & woke for woo of his buernes.
1718 S. Sewall Diary 6 Feb. (1973) II. 882 This morning wandering [but perh. read wondering] in my mind whether to live a Single or a Married Life.
1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter II. iv. 79 She must have wandered—she must have been dreaming.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxiv. 228 They said he was wandering in his head yesterday.
1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 166 On awaking about eleven o'clock, he was wandering.
1876 W. Black Madcap Violet xxxvii He wanders a little, you know, as a feverish person will, when he speaks to you.
1898 P. Manson Trop. Dis. xvii. 273 The patient may wander or pass into a comatose state.
II. Transitive senses.
5. To roam over, in, through (a place); to traverse in wandering.
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
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes 104 b For in the night before Cicero dreamed, being banished from Rome, that he wandred diuers straunge countries.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vii. sig. G2 High ouer hills, and lowe adowne the dale, She wandred many a wood, and measurd many a vale.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd i. 354 Forty days Eliah without food Wandred this barren waste. View more context for this quotation
1682 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 246 Chusing rather to wander the wide world then under~goe (as they call it) such persecution.
1798 R. Bloomfield Winter in Farmer's Boy 390 Seedtime and Harvest let me see again; Wander the leaf-strewn wood, the frozen plain.
1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen (1912) v. 108 I gaze upon them as the swallow gazes Upon the nest under the eave, before She wander the loud waters.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 29/5 (advt.) When you are wandering the attractive shops..you can pause for luncheon.
1976 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. 12 Nov. 9/2 Born into a London Jewish family in October, 1936, he remembers the excitement of wandering the bomb sites of postwar London.
1981 E. Ward Baltic Emerald x. 71 First you wander this place for me, find Suite A.
6. To cause to wander, lead astray; also figurative to confuse in mind, bewilder. Chiefly colloquial or humorous.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > confuse, perplex, bewilder [verb (transitive)]
abobc1330
confusec1350
confoundc1374
cumbera1375
passc1384
maskerc1400
mopc1425
enose1430
manga1450
overmusec1460
perplex1477
maze1482
enmuse1502
ruffle?a1505
unsteady1532
entangle1540
duddle1548
intricate1548
distraught1579
distract1582
mizzle1583
moider1587
amuse1595
mist1598
bepuzzle1599
gravel1601
plunder1601
puzzle1603
intrigue1612
vexa1613
metagrobolize?a1616
befumea1618
fuddle1617
crucify1621
bumfiddlea1625
implicate1625
giddify1628
wilder1642
buzzlea1644
empuzzle1646
dunce1649
addle1652
meander1652
emberlucock1653
flounder1654
study1654
disorient1655
embarrass?1656
essome1660
embrangle1664
jumble1668
dunt1672
muse1673
clutter1685
emblustricate1693
fluster1720
disorientate1728
obfuscate1729
fickle1736
flustrate1797
unharmonize1797
mystify1806
maffle1811
boggle1835
unballast1836
stomber1841
throw1844
serpentine1850
unbalance1856
tickle1865
fog1872
bumfuzzle1878
wander1897
to put off1909
defeat1914
dither1919
befuddle1926
ungear1931
to screw up1941
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > lose (the way) > cause to lose one's way or go astray
wilder1613
bewilder1685
wander1897
1897 C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 319 He meant to..‘wander’ her like a cat in a strange wood.
1899 W. E. H[enley] in Pall Mall Mag. Aug. 579 Nay, it wanders him to worse purpose yet; for it even makes him say that, if [etc.].
1899 S. R. Crockett Kit Kennedy xlviii Mary was conscious that she was not doing herself justice... So she smiled. That smile ‘wandered’ the assistant. He promptly lost grip.
1914 N. Munro New Road xxx ‘Ye've knocked the feet from me!’ he said in a voice depressed. ‘I'm fairly wandered.’
Compounds
wander-bird n. = Wandervogel n.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > specific societies or organizations > [noun] > specific youth organizations > members of other youth organizations
wander-bird1924
Wandervogel1928
4-H'er1935
pathfinder1960
Sea Cadet1976
1924 A. Huxley Little Mexican 184 Parties of ruck~sacked Wander-Birds.
1926 A. Huxley Ess. New & Old 157 Of northern Germany it is enough to say that it is the home of the wander-birds.
wander-book n. a passport in the form of a book; a guidebook.
ΚΠ
1844 W. Howitt tr. P. D. Holthaus Wanderings of Journeyman Tailor Introd. p. xiv A fact..which was more than sufficiently shewn by his Wander-Book.
1860 W. White Wrekin xxx. 358 And if haply Cotton be your wander-book, you may test his descriptive outpourings on the very scene of their inspiration.
wander-plug n. a plug which can be fitted into any of a number of sockets in a dry battery.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [noun] > dry battery > plug for
wander-plug1923
1923 Daily Mail 5 June 13/5 A few high-tension batteries (50 volts with wander-plugs).
1968 Wireless World Feb. 133/1 (advt.) Heavy duty terminals... Black only will take spade terminals and wander plug.
wander-soul n. (see quot. 1917.)
ΚΠ
1917 Hastings's Encycl. Relig. & Ethics IX. 281/2 With regard to the wander-soul, i.e. the immortal soul with a period of mundane existence remaining after the death of the body to which it belonged, [etc.].
wander-spirit n. = wanderlust n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > [noun] > desire or fondness for
go-fever1875
travel sickness1894
trek fever1897
wanderlust1902
travel bug1907
wander-spirit1927
the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > desire for specific things > [noun] > for wandering
wanderlust1902
wander-spirit1927
1927 Observer 19 June 22/4 There is a drive..which it is the first duty of every motor owner with the wander-spirit properly developed to explore.
wander-witted adj. = wandery adj. (cf. wandering adj.).
ΚΠ
1959 Listener 29 Jan. 225/2 A wander-witted granddad, a sad bore to his family.
1959 P. Fleming Siege at Peking xiv. 220 The sights he had seen had turned his hair and beard prematurely white and made him wander-witted.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1843
v.c888- leave a thing be
- leave a thing hanging
- leave a thing on ice
- laughing matter
- laughing muscle
- laughing off
- laughing owl
- laughing peal
- laughing post
- laughing stake
- laughing stock
- laughing-eyed
- laughing-thrush
- laughingeyed
- laughinglier
- laughingliest
- laughingly
- laughings
- laughingthrush
- laughless
- laughmaker
- laughometer
- laughoutloud
- laughoutloud funny
- laughs