ramble

English

Etymology

An altered form (with dissimilation of mm to mb) of dialectal rammle, from Middle English *ramlen, *ramelen, frequentative of Middle English ramen (“to roam, ramble”); compare Old Swedish rambla (“to make a noise”), Danish ramle (“to stumble; collapse; thunder; boom”); equivalent to roam +‎ -le.

"mid-15 c., perhaps frequentative of 'romen' 'to walk, go' perhaps via 'romblen' (late 14 c.) 'to ramble.' The vowel change perhaps by influence of Middle Dutch 'rammelen,' a derivative of 'rammen' 'copulate,' 'used of the night wanderings of the amorous cat.' Meaning 'to talk or write incoherently' is from 1630s".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹæmbəl/
• Rhymes: -æmbəl

Noun

ramble (plural rambles)

1. A leisurely stroll; a recreational walk in the countryside.
   • 1811, Jane Austen, chapter 16, in Sense and Sensibility:

     Marianne was prevailed upon to join her sisters in their usual walk, instead of wandering away by herself. Hitherto she had carefully avoided every companion in her rambles. If her sisters intended to walk on the downs, she directly stole away towards the lanes; […]

   • 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XI, page 138:

     The place was a favourite with all, and the ramble in this quarter was quite a regular custom of the afternoon with the fair heiress of Colonel Walton in particular.

2. A rambling; an instance of someone talking at length without direction.
3. (mining) A bed of shale over the seam of coal.

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

4. A section of woodland suitable for leisurely walking.

Translations

stroll — see stroll

A rambling; an instance of someone talking at length without direction

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 漫谈 (zh) (màntán)

• German: Abschweifen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: болтовня́ (ru) f (boltovnjá), пустосло́вие (ru) n (pustoslóvije)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Finnish: huvikävely, kävelylenkki
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

ramble (third-person singular simple present rambles, present participle rambling, simple past and past participle rambled)

1. To move about aimlessly, or on a winding course
2. To walk for pleasure; to amble or saunter.
3. To talk or write incessantly, unclearly, or incoherently, with many digressions.

   Francine has a tendency to ramble when it gets to be late in the evening.

Synonyms

• (talk or write unclearly, or incoherently): drivel, sperg

Translations

wander — see wander

to walk for pleasure; to amble or saunter

• Finnish: käydä kävelylenkillä
• French: flâner (fr), se balader (fr)
• German: spazieren (de), bummeln (de), schlendern (de)
• Hungarian: kószál (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: ānau
• Occitan: rambiar, se passejar, landrejar
• Russian: прогу́ливаться (ru) (progúlivatʹsja)
• Spanish: pasearse (es), callejear (es)

to talk or write incessantly, unclearly, or incoherently, with many digressions

• Finnish: jaaritella (fi)
• French: divaguer (fr), radoter (fr)
• Hungarian: elkalandozik (hu)
• Latin: ālūcinor
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: murakehu (of speaking), kāwekaweka
• Russian: бормотать (ru) impf (bormotatʹ), пробормотать (ru) pf (probormotatʹ), путать слова impf (putatʹ slova), запутался в словах m or pf (zaputalsja v slovax)
• Spanish: divagar (es), debrayar (colloquial) (Mexico)

Further reading

• “ramble”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ramble”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “ramble”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Ambler, Balmer, Blamer, Marble, ambler, blamer, lamber, marble