wander

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Contents

English [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English wandren, wandrien, from Old English wandrian (“to wander, roam, fly around, hover; change; stray, err”), from Proto-Germanic *wandrōną (“to wander”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn, wind”), equivalent to wend +‎ -er (frequentative suffix). Cognate with Scots wander (“to wander”), German wandern (“to wander, roam, hike, migrate”), Swedish vandra (“to wander, hike”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Verb [edit]

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

  1. (intransitive) To move without purpose; often in search of livelihood.
  2. (intransitive) To stray; stray from one's course; err.
  3. (intransitive) To commit adultery.
  4. (intransitive) To go somewhere indirectly or at varying speeds; to move in a curved path.
  5. (intransitive) Of the mind, to lose focus or clarity of argument or attention.

Synonyms [edit]

  • (move without purpose): err, roam
  • (commit adultery): cheat
  • (go somewhere indirectly):
  • (lose focus): drift

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

move without purpose
commit adultery
go somewhere indirectly
of the mind, to lose focus or clarity of argument or attention

Noun [edit]

wander (plural wanders)

  1. The act or instance of wandering.
    To go for a wander

Translations [edit]

act or instance of wandering

Anagrams [edit]

German [edit]

Verb [edit]

wander

  1. First-person singular present of wandern.
  2. Imperative singular of wandern.
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