wander

See also: Wander

English

Etymology

From Middle English wandren, wandrien, from Old English wandrian (“to wander, roam, fly around, hover; change; stray, err”), from Proto-West Germanic *wandarōn (“to wander”), from *wandōn (“to turn, change”) +‎ *-rōn (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Scots wander (“to wander”), German wandern (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Dutch wandelen (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Danish vandre (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Swedish vandra (“to wander, hike”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒndə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɑndɚ/
• (West Midlands, especially Birmingham) IPA^(key): /ˈwʊndə/, IPA^(key): /ˈwʌndə/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒndə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: wan‧der

Verb

wander (third-person singular simple present wanders, present participle wandering, simple past and past participle wandered)

1. (intransitive) To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood.

   Synonyms: err, roam

   to wander over the fields

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:37:

     They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins.

   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; […]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache.

   • 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:

     There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. […] Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place.

2. (intransitive) To stray; stray from one's course; err.

   A writer wanders from his subject.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms cxix:10:

     O, let me not wander from thy commandments.

3. (intransitive) To commit adultery.

   Synonym: cheat

4. (intransitive) To go somewhere indirectly or at varying speeds; to move in a curved path.

   Synonym: drift

5. (intransitive) Of the mind, to lose focus or clarity of argument or attention.

   Synonyms: distract, scatter

Derived terms

• bewander
• Brazilian wandering spider
• forwander
• inwander
• miswander
• wanderer
• wandering spleen
• wandering star
• wandering whistling duck
• wandering womb
• wanderlust
• wander off
• wanderstar

 

Translations

to move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood — see also err,‎ roam

• Arabic: تَجَوَّلَ (tajawwala)

  Egyptian Arabic: دار (dār)

• Armenian: թափառել (hy) (tʻapʻaṙel)
• Aromanian: alag, cutriyir
• Belarusian: блука́ць impf (blukácʹ), блудзі́ць impf (bludzícʹ)
• Bulgarian: лу́там се impf (lútam se), ски́там се impf (skítam se)
• Catalan: vagar (ca), deambular (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 漫步 (zh) (mànbù), 徘徊 (zh) (páihuái)

• Czech: toulat se
• Danish: strejfe (da)
• Dutch: zwerven (nl), rondtrekken (nl)
• Egyptian: (šmꜣ)
• Esperanto: vagi
• Finnish: vaeltaa (fi), vaellella (fi), kierrellä (fi), harhailla (fi)
• French: errer (fr), vaguer (fr), divaguer (fr)
• Galician: vagar (gl), ruar (gl)
• Georgian: ხეტიალი (ka) (xeṭiali), წანწალი (c̣anc̣ali)
• German: umherstreifen (de), umherstreichen (de), herumziehen (de), stromern (de), (dated) zigeunern (de), schlendern (de), bummeln (de), wandeln (de)
• Gothic: 𐍈𐌰𐍂𐌱𐍉𐌽 (ƕarbōn)
• Greek: τριγυρίζω (el) (trigyrízo), τριγυρνώ (el) (trigyrnó)

  Ancient Greek: περιφοιτάω (periphoitáō)

  Ancient: πλανάομαι (planáomai), ῥέμβομαι (rhémbomai), περιέρρω (periérrhō)

• Hebrew: שׁוֹטֵט (he) (shotét), תָּעָה (he) (ta'á)
• Hindi: भटकना (hi) (bhaṭaknā), घूमना (hi) (ghūmnā)
• Hungarian: vándorol (hu), kóborol (hu), kószál (hu), barangol (hu), csatangol (hu), bolyong (hu), bóklászik (hu)
• Ingrian: häylyä, häylää
• Italian: errare (it), vagare (it), girovagare (it), passeggiare (it), bighellonare (it), vagabondare (it)
• Japanese: ぶらつく (ja) (buratsuku), さ迷う (ja) (さまよう, samayou), うろつく (ja) (urotsuku)
• Khmer: សាត់ (km) (sat)
• Korean: 돌아다니다 (ko) (doradanida), 헤매다 (ko) (hemaeda)
• Lao: ເລາະ (lǫ)
• Latin: vagor, pālor, errō (la)
• Lithuanian: klajoti
• Macedonian: талка (talka), скита (mk) (skita), лута (luta)
• Maori: kaewa, kāewaewa, whakakaewa, takiwhenua, takiwhenua, ānau, tīpao, taiāmiki, tīhoihoi, ānau, kaea, whakatīhohe, kōpikopiko, tiwhao
• Nepali: डुल्नु (ḍulnu)
• Norman: èrrer
• Occitan: vagar (oc), errar (oc), trevar (oc)
• Old Church Slavonic: заблѫждати (zablǫždati)
• Old English: scrīþan
• Ottoman Turkish: گزمك (gezmek)
• Persian: پرسه زدن (fa) (porse zadan)
• Polish: włóczyć się (pl), błąkać się (pl), tułać się (pl)
• Portuguese: vagar (pt), perambular (pt), vadiar (pt)
• Romanian: umbla (ro), plimba (ro), colinda (ro), cutreiera (ro)
• Russian: броди́ть (ru) (brodítʹ), слоня́ться (ru) (slonjátʹsja), блужда́ть (ru) (bluždátʹ), шата́ться (ru) (šatátʹsja), шляться (ru) (šljatʹsja), скита́ться (ru) impf (skitátʹsja), блука́ть (ru) impf (blukátʹ), плута́ть (ru) impf (plutátʹ)
• Sanskrit: वञ्चति (sa) (vañcati)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: лу́тати impf, одлу́тати pf, блудити impf (Croatia)

  Roman: lútati (sh) impf, odlútati (sh) pf, bluditi (sh) impf (Croatia)

• Slovak: túlať sa impf
• Spanish: vagar (es), divagar (es), errar (es), deambular (es), yirar (es) (River Plate), tunar (es)
• Swedish: vanka (sv), vandra (sv)
• Tamil: அலை (ta) (alai)
• Thai: ท่องเที่ยว (th) (tɔ̂ng-tîao)
• Turkish: gezinmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: мандрува́ти impf (mandruváty), блука́ти (uk) impf (blukáty), плута́ти impf (plutáty), броди́ти (uk) impf (brodýty), ника́ти (uk) impf (nykáty), шве́ндяти impf (švéndjaty)
• Vietnamese: lang thang (vi)
• Welsh: crwydro (cy)
• Yiddish: וואַנדערן (vandern)

to stray; stray from one's course; err — see also err

• Bulgarian: отклонявам се (otklonjavam se), обърквам пътя (obǎrkvam pǎtja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: strejfe (da)
• Finnish: harhautua (fi), eksyä (fi), ajautua sivuun
• Hebrew: תָּעָה (he) (ta'á)
• Hungarian: elkalandozik (hu), eltér (hu), letér (hu)
• Italian: allontanarsi (it), svicolare, perdersi (it)
• Ottoman Turkish: آزمق (azmak)
• Spanish: desviarse (es), descarriarse (es)
• Swedish: irra (sv)

to commit adultery — see also cheat

• Bulgarian: изневерявам (bg) (izneverjavam)
• Czech: zahnout (cs) pf (informal)
• Dutch: vreemdgaan (nl)
• Finnish: pettää (fi), käydä vieraissa (fi), tehdä aviorikos, olla uskoton, (religious/archaic) tehdä huorin
• German: ^{(please verify)} fremdgehen (de), ^{(please verify)} einen Seitensprung tun
• Hungarian: megcsal (hu), félrelép (hu)
• Italian: tradire (it)
• Maori: moe tāhae, pūremu
• Spanish: engañar (es), aventurar (es)

to go somewhere indirectly or at varying speeds; to move in a curved path

• Bulgarian: бродя (bg) (brodja)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: dolen (nl)
• Finnish: kierrellä (fi), kaarrella (fi), kiertää (fi), vaeltaa (fi)
• German: umherschweifen (de)
• Hungarian: kanyarog (hu), kígyózik (hu), kacskaringózik (hu)
• Italian: vagare (it), serpeggiare (it)
• Japanese: 迷う (ja) (mayou)
• Old English: scrīþan
• Spanish: peregrinar (es)

of the mind, to lose focus or clarity of argument or attention

• Czech: toulat se
• Dutch: afdwalen (nl)
• Finnish: harhailla (fi)
• German: abschweifen (de)
• Hungarian: (to digress, stray) elkalandozik (hu), (to daydream, muse) elábrándozik (hu), ábrándozik (hu), álmodozik (hu), elméláz (hu), (to rave, be delirious) félrebeszél (hu)
• Italian: divagare (it)
• Japanese: 横道にそれる (yokomichi ni soreru)
• Spanish: divagar (es), pajarear (es), pajaronear

Noun

wander (countable and uncountable, plural wanders)

1. (countable) An act or instance of wandering.

   to go for a wander in the park

2. (uncountable, of a value, signal or similar) Deviation from a correct or normal value.

   Hyponym: polar wander

   baseline wander in ECG signals

Translations

act or instance of wandering

• Bulgarian: скитане (bg) n (skitane)
• Czech: toulka f
• Esperanto: vago (eo)
• Greek: τριγύρισμα (el) n (trigýrisma)
• Hungarian: vándorlás (hu), barangolás (hu), kóborlás (hu), kószálás (hu), csatangolás (hu), bolyongás (hu), bóklászás (hu)
• Italian: vagabondaggio (it) m
• Lithuanian: klajonė f, klajojimas m
• Polish: wędrówka (pl) f, tułaczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: vagueação f, perambulação f
• Russian: стра́нствие (ru) n (stránstvije)
• Welsh: crwydr (cy) m

Anagrams

• Andrew, Darwen, Warden, drawne, warden, warned

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

wander

1. inflection of wandern:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative