wander
/ˈwɑndɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.67 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To move without purpose or specified destination; often in search of livelihood.
Intransitive verb
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "to wander over the fields"
- "They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins."
- "“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron;[…]. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, and from time to time squinting sideways, as usual, in the ever-renewed expectation that he might catch a glimpse of his stiff, retroussé moustache."
- "There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.[…]Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place."
- "A writer wanders from his subject."
- "O, let me not wander from thy commandments."
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: wandren, wandrian, *wandarōn
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɑndɚ/
- British English: /ˈwɒndə/