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)/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /miˈændɚ/

Noun

meander (plural meanders)

1. One of the turns of 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. (geography) one of a series of regular sinuous curves, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse
4. Fretwork.
5. Perplexity.
6. Synonym of Greek key, a decorative border.
7. (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

• Bulgarian: кривулица f (krivulica)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 河套 (zh) (hétào)

• Czech: meandr (cs) m
• Danish: mæander c
• Finnish: kiemurtelu (fi), luikertelu; meanderit (fi) pl (of river)
• French: méandre (fr) m
• German: Windung (de) f, Flusswindung f, Mäander (de) m, Flussschlinge f, Flussbiegung 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

• Bulgarian: кривуличене n (krivuličene)
• Finnish: kiemurtelu (fi)

• French: méandre (fr) m
• Romanian: meandre f pl

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.

   • 2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in Rail, page 51:

     I'd forgotten how scenic parts of the line are - the railway crosses a host of streams while meandering through meadows or skirting woodland.

2. (transitive) To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous.
   • 1612, Michael Drayton, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] H[umphrey] L[ownes] for Mathew Lownes; I. Browne; I. Helme; I. Busbie, published 1613, OCLC 1049089293:

     Her labyrinth-like ţurns, and mad meander'd trace […]

Translations

to wind or turn

• Bulgarian: кривулича (krivuliča)
• 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 (fi)

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

Zdjęcie lotnicze meandrów rzeki Cauto
An aerial photograph of meanders of the Río Cauto

Meander na podłodze tepidarium
A meander on the floor of a tepidarium

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛˈan.dɛr/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: me‧an‧der
• Rhymes: -andɛr

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)

   Synonym: zakole

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
• (noun) meandryczność
• (adjectives) meandrowy, meandryczny, meandrowaty

Further reading

• meander in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• meander in Polish dictionaries at PWN