wander

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To move without purpose or specified destination; 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.

Noun

1. (countable) An act or instance of wandering.
2. (uncountable) Deviation from a correct or normal value.

Synonyms

roam

rove

stray

ramble

drift

stroll

loiter

travel

walk

🚶

tramp

meander

range

gad

move around

swan

🦢

saunter

walk about

prowl

survive

float

tour

journey

hang around

go about

vagabond

live

digress

wander about

roam about

cuckold

homeless

betray

wind

move about

cheat

nomadic

divagate

walk around

go

cast

hike

deflect

fool around

thread

🧵

flow

roll

knock about

err

cheat on

promenade

Translations

errer

vagar

vagabondare

vagare

wandern

vaguer

errare

vagar

vagar

⌚

vagabundear

errar

vagabonder

umherstreifen

zwerven

umherschweifen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɒndə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: wandren

Inherited from Old English: wandrian

Cognate with Scots: wander

Cognate with German: wandern

Cognate with Dutch: wandelen

Cognate with Danish: vandre

Cognate with Swedish: vandra

In summary

From Middle English wandren, 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”).