saunter
/ˈsɔntɚ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.23 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "One could lie under elm trees in a lawn, or saunter in meadows by the side of a stream."
- "She heard the door underneath unclose, and from underneath the green verandah she saw her mother saunter out."
- "Meanwhile the young ladies sauntered along—before or behind, as the case might be—in the company of the young business-man and that of another youth who had come out independently on the trolley."
- "And, after all, they were once very close, doesn’t Lewis still have the keys to his apartment, you know the way you let someone keep the keys after you’ve broken up, only a little because you hope the person might just saunter in, drunk or high, late some evening, […]"
- "Caroline […] begged that the drive might be given up for a saunter about the gardens[…]"
- "walking at a saunter"
Etymology
Etymology unclear. Attested in the sense “to stroll” from the 1660s; noun sense “a stroll” attested 1828. Likely from earlier term meaning “to muse”, late 15th century, from late Middle English santren, of unknown origin. Competing theories exist: * From Anglo-Norman sauntrer (mid 14th century), from Middle French s'aventurer (“to take risks”); however, this is considered unlikely by the OED. Compare Middle English aunter (“adventure”). * Of Germanic origin, with proposed cognates including German schlendern, Dutch slenteren, Danish slentre, Swedish släntra, and Icelandic slentur, all meaning “to stroll”. * From Old French sentier (“path”). In this case, santren would reflect earlier *sa(u)nteren, *senteren /sa(u̯)nˈteːrən/, /sɛnˈteːrən/, with Late Middle English stress shift and concomitant vowel reduction. Various fanciful folk etymologies have also been given.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: santren
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsɔntɚ/
- British English: /ˈsɔːntə/