Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To walk at a leisurely pace; stroll.
- noun A leisurely pace.
- noun A leisurely walk or stroll.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A stroll; a leisurely ramble or walk.
- noun A leisurely, careless gait.
- noun A sauntering-place; a loitering- or strolling-place.
- To venture (?). See
sauntering , 1. - To hesitate (?).
- To wander idly or loiteringly; move or walk in a leisurely, listless, or undecided way; loiter; lounge; stroll.
- To dawdle; idle; loiter over a thing.
- Synonyms Stroll, Stray, etc. See
ramble , v.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A sauntering, or a sauntering place.
- intransitive verb To wander or walk about idly and in a leisurely or lazy manner; to lounge; to stroll; to loiter.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
stroll , orwalk at aleisurely pace - noun A leisurely walk or stroll.
- noun A leisurely
pace . - noun obsolete A place for sauntering or strolling.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
- noun a leisurely walk (usually in some public place)
- noun a careless leisurely gait
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Jason Dufner's walk defines the word 'saunter,'" Graeme McDowell tweeted.
SI.com 2011
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"Jason Dufner's walk defines the word 'saunter,'" Graeme McDowell tweeted.
CNN.com 2011
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Sax liked Thoreau's explanation for the word saunter: from à la Sainte Terre, describing pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.
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The word saunter, like many others, can't be traced back very far (AHD: Probably from Middle English santren, to muse), but of course that doesn't stop people from trying, and this word has a particularly enjoyable pseudo-etymology, discussed in the following typically piquant passage from one of the stories in Kim Stanley Robinson's The Martians (a book I recommend to anyone who likes thoughtful, human-oriented science fiction):Long walks around Odessa at the end of the day.
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To take a walk is to vegetate; to saunter is to live.
The Physiology of Marriage, Complete Honor�� de Balzac 1824
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To take a walk is to vegetate; to saunter is to live.
The Physiology of Marriage, Part 1 Honor�� de Balzac 1824
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To take a walk is to vegetate; to saunter is to live.
Analytical Studies Honor�� de Balzac 1824
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(He had gotten 'saunter' from listening to Daddy's character, the "cool guy," No Way Jose.) 1 comment | Leave a comment
How do you saunter? arhyalon 2008
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As opposed to the guy who sits in the same spot every day asking for a hand-out, the bum [from the German for "saunter"] roams freely throughout the city, the country, the planet: He is king of the road.
Boing Boing 2008
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She's the poster child for the word "saunter" and her curvy, busty frame totally gives the finger to heroin chic while completely oozing sex appeal.
jameslappin commented on the word saunter
This word takes me back to summers in the 1980s, watching Test match special. Jim Laker intones: 'Here comes Viv Richards, sauntering to the wicket'. The word captures Viv's relaxed disdain for the people who would bowl at him.
December 14, 2006
rolig commented on the word saunter
Interesting citation at saunterer.
October 6, 2009
jboyd commented on the word saunter
Thoreau has a spurious but appealing etymology as he opens his essay, “Walking” (1862).
October 24, 2020