meander English · revision 180
5 Oct 2026, 22:11 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /miˈæn.də(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /miˈæn.dɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− First recorded in the 1570s in the now obsolete sense “confusion, intricacy”,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|la|maeander|t=a winding course]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD) [[der|grc|μαίανδρος|tr=maíandros]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) from ''Maíandros'', the name of a river in Asia Minor (now the Menderes) noted for its winding course.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) The Greeks already used the name figuratively for winding patterns.^(Etymonline)
+ It is [[bor|la|maeander|t=a winding course]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD) [[der|grc|μαίανδρος|tr=maíandros]],^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) from ''Maíandros'', the name of a river in Asia Minor (now the Menderes) noted for its winding course.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary) The Greeks already used the name figuratively for winding patterns.^(Etymonline)
− In English it was applied to rivers from the 1590s;^(Etymonline) the verb “to wander aimlessly” (1831) was perhaps influenced by [[maunder]].^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ “Confusion, intricacy” (1570s), a sense now obsolete.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In English the word was applied to the windings of rivers from the 1590s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and to any winding course or turning passage from the 1630s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The verb was used of rivers from c. 1612, and of a person, “to wander aimlessly”, from 1831, perhaps influenced by [[maunder]].^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In art the word names an ornamental pattern of winding lines, the Greek key (1706).^(OED 1989)^(AHD) Adjectives that have been tried include ''meandrine'', ''meandrous'', ''meandrian'', and ''meandry''.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1576 – “confusing ways; intricacies”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1590s – the windings of a river.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1612 – verb, of a river, “to flow in meanders”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1706 – an ornamental winding pattern.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1821 – American, “to travel along a winding river”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1831 – “to wander aimlessly”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To follow a winding course.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # To wander aimlessly; to ramble.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A winding or turn, as of a river.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A circuitous journey; a ramble.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A decorative pattern of winding lines, the Greek key.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[meanderer]]
+ * [[meanderingly]]
+ * [[meandrous]]
+ * [[meander line]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[maunder]]
==References==