meander

English

Alternative forms

• mæander (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek Μαίανδρος (Maíandros) – a river in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) known for its winding course. (Turkish Büyük Menderes Nehri)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /miˈændə(ɹ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /miˈændɚ/

Noun

meander (plural meanders)

1. Usually in plural, a winding, crooked, or involved course.

   the meanders of an old river, or of the veins and arteries in the body

   • 1712, Sir Richard Blackmore, "Creation: A Philosophical Poem":

     See, how the streams advancing to the main, / Through crooked channels draw their crystal train! / While lingering thus they in meanders glide, / They scatter verdant life on either side.

2. A tortuous or intricate movement.
3. Fretwork.
4. Synonym of Greek key.
5. (mathematics) A self-avoiding closed curve which intersects a line a number of times.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• meander belt
• meanderer
• meanderian
• meanderic

• meanderiform
• meanderine
• meandering
• meander line

• meander loop
• meandrous
• meandry

Translations

winding, crooked or involved course

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 河套 (zh) (hétào)

• Czech: meandr (cs) m
• Danish: mæander c
• Finnish: kiemurtelu, luikertelu; meanderit pl (of river)
• French: méandre (fr) m
• German: Windung (de) f
• Greek: μαίανδρος (el) m (maíandros)
• Italian: meandro (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: meander (no) m

  Nynorsk: meander m

• Polish: zakole (pl) n
• Portuguese: meandro (pt) m
• Romanian: meandru (ro) n
• Russian: меа́ндр (ru) m (meándr)
• Scottish Gaelic: lùb f
• Spanish: meandro (es) m (river)

tortuous or intricate movement

• Finnish: kiemurtelu

• French: méandre (fr) m

fretwork — see fretwork

Greek key — see Greek key

math: type of self-avoiding closed curve

Verb

meander (third-person singular simple present meanders, present participle meandering, simple past and past participle meandered)

1. (intransitive) To wind or turn in a course or passage; to be intricate.

   The stream meandered through the valley.

2. (transitive) To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryton to this entry?)

Translations

to wind or turn

• Finnish: kiemurrella (fi), luikerrella (fi)
• French: méandrer (fr)
• Italian: spiegarsi (it), stendersi, avvilupparsi, dispiegarsi
• Japanese: 迂曲 (ukyoku), うきょく
• Maori: whakakoki, kōpiko, kōpikopiko

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: meandrere

• Polish: wić (pl) impf
• Romanian: meandra (rare)
• Scottish Gaelic: lùb

to make flexuous

• Finnish: taivutella

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} errer (fr)
• German: ^{(please verify)} mäandern (de)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} girovare, ^{(please verify)} girovagare (it)

• Maori: ^{(please verify)} whakatihake, ^{(please verify)} hāereere
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} deambular (es)

Further reading

• meander on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Büyük Menderes River on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• The Chambers Dictionary (1998)

Anagrams

• Merenda, amender, enarmed, reamend, reedman, renamed

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Norwegian Bokmål

Meandere i elva Finna, Oppland

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek Μαίανδρος (Maíandros)

Noun

meander m (definite singular meanderen, indefinite plural meandere or meandre or meandrer, definite plural meanderne or meandrene)

1. a meander (in a river)

Derived terms

• meandersjø
• meandrere

References

• “meander” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “meander” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek Μαίανδρος (Maíandros)

Noun

meander m (definite singular meanderen, indefinite plural meandrar, definite plural meandrane)

1. a meander (in a river)

Derived terms

• meandersjø

References

• “meander” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Etymology

From German Mäander.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛˈan.dɛr/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

meander m inan

1. meander (one of a series of regular sinuous curves, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse)
2. meander, meandros (decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif)

Declension

declension of meander

	singular	plural
nominative	meander	meandry
genitive	meandra	meandrów
dative	meandrowi	meandrom
accusative	meander	meandry
instrumental	meandrem	meandrami
locative	meandrze	meandrach
vocative	meandrze	meandry

Derived terms

• (verb) meandrować
• (adjectives) meandrowy, meandryczny, meandrowaty

Further reading

• meander in Polish dictionaries at PWN