wanderlust en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈwɑndɚˌlʌst/ (General-American)
- /ˈwɒndəlʌst/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Etymology tree Middle High German wandern German wandern Middle High German lust German Lust German Wanderlustbor. English wanderlust Borrowed from German Wanderlust (“an urge to travel; a love of the ‘great outdoors’”), from wandern (“to wander; to hike”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + Lust (“a desire, a wish to do or have something; fun, pleasure”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to separate; to set free; to untie”)); analysable as wander + lust.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A strong impulse or longing to travel.
His death brings to light the thwarted ambitions, bridled emotions, unfulfilled loves, or unsatisfied wanderlusts of his surviving friends.
1987, John Wilson Foster, “Betraying Presences: Fictional Tidings from Cork, Galway, and the Midlands—Daniel Corkery, Brinsley MacNamara, Edward E. Lysaght”, in Fictions of the Irish Literary Revival: A Changeling Art (Irish Studies), Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, published 1993, →ISBN, part III (The Infinite Pain of Self-realization: The Realist Reply), page 183:They were deliriously happy for a few years, but always her soul felt the call of wanderlust.
1933, “Germany [Paula Becker Modersohn (1876–1907)]”, in Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, compiler, 400 Outstanding Women of the World and Costumology of Their Time, Chicago, Ill.: Minna Moscherosch Schmidt, →OCLC, page 207:[Edward Verrall] Lucas is no less interested in places, imbued as he has always been with wanderlust.
1972 April–June, Visvanath Chatterjee, “E. V. Lucas: Prince of Essayists”, in The Calcutta Review, volume III, number 4 (New Series), Calcutta, West Bengal: University of Calcutta, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 317:Or perhaps walking should be called movement, not travel, for one can walk in circles or travel around the world immobilized in a seat, and a certain kind of wanderlust can only be assuaged by the acts of the body itself in motion, not the motion of the car, boat, or plane.
2000, Rebecca Solnit, “Tracing a Headland: An Introduction”, in Wanderlust: A History of Walking, New York, N.Y.; London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, part I (The Pace of Thoughts), page 6:The shallow waters immediately adjacent to California's 1200 miles of coastline offer a wide variety of habitats where at least 250 kinds of fishes live out all or some of their lives. [...] The eggs and larvae of some may drift seaward and lead a pelagic existence, but once their wanderlust is satisfied, the juveniles return to nearshore areas where they take up life as their parents did before them.
1975, John E. Fitch, Robert J. Lavenberg, “Introduction”, in Arthur C. Smith, editor, Tidepool and Nearshore Fishes of California (California Natural History Guides; 38), Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.; London: University of California Press, →ISBN, page 1:Apart from a visit to Paris in 1825 he [Adelbert von Chamisso] enjoyed the peace of his home and of his study at Berlin until the hour of his death without any further visitations of Wanderlust.
1932, August C[arl] Mahr, “Introduction”, in The Visit of the “Rurik” to San Francisco in 1816 (Stanford University Publications, University Series ; History, Economics, and Political Science; volume II, number 2), Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press; London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, →OCLC, pages 17–18:If you find yourself suffering from an attack of Wanderlust, this is the book for you!
1937 April, “New Publications in the Leisure Time Field”, in Recreation, volume XXXI, number 1, New York, N.Y.: National Recreation Association, →OCLC, page 55, column 1:For the long trail stretched before us, for we heard the call, / Left the hearthstone and the homeland, felt the rover's thrall; / Wandered to the far horizon, sought the joy of life— / Now the wanderlust is waning, heimweh now is rife.
1908 December 12, Harry Davids, Tom Springer, “Christmas Sorrows”, in Alfred Holman, editor, The Argonaut, volume LXIII, number 1655, San Francisco, Calif.: Argonaut Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 397, column 1:I saw the wind brush a swirl of dust / from the surface of a sleeping form, / Awakening a hidden thrush / of wanderlusts it had ignored, [...]
2020, Jeffery William Childers Jr., “The Troubadours”, in Orphan Mysticism: Gnostic Empathy, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 64:The Wanderlust has lured me to the seven lonely seas, / Has dumped me on the tailing-piles of dearth; / The Wanderlust has haled me from the morris chairs of ease, / Has hurled me to the ends of all the earth.
1912, Robert W[illiam] Service, “The Wanderlust”, in Rhymes of a Rolling Stone, Toronto, Ont.: William Briggs, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 123:Very often we made detours from the main caravan, rejoining it at a given spot, and this spirit of "wanderlust" brought us into a nice quandary one fine day.
1908, Agnes Herbert, “Death of ‘The Baron’”, in Two Dianas in Somaliland: The Record of a Shooting Trip, London: John Lane, The Bodley Head; New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, →OCLC, page 119:I've suffered from wanderlust since I was a child. Perhaps it's the result of being the grandchild of immigrants who found a better life by traveling somewhere else, or (more likely) because when I was a kid, traveling meant not having to go to school or do house chores.
2011 February 16, Brendan Francis Newnam, “Travel for the curious and resourceful”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Oct 2021:What is it, about this wanderlust? The compulsive desire to travel, surely; to reach out for spaces where the serendipity of experience can unfold of itself into a life journey?
2010, Megan Speers, “Foreword”, in Wanderlust: A Story Told in 50 Wood Engravings (Graphic Novels; 3), Erin, Ont.: The Porcupine’s Quill, →ISBN, page 7:
-
(countable, uncountable) An impulse to be unfaithful or seek out other romantic or sexual partners; a straying heart.
I was the slapper ... was in a short piece where I was a jealous girlfriend who slapped my date for his wanderlust.
1998 June 2, DoveCrye, “Face Slapping - Real or Faked?”, in alt.acting (Usenet):Donna was a model of TRUE "Family Values"! She tried to keep Ghoulie as her busband, but his wanderlust could not be controlled.
2001 July 5, nyc, “POOR, poor Rudey!”, in alt.government.abuse (Usenet):Males like lots of rapid anonymous sex. It's a biological drive. When you get a male-female couple together the male often gives up his wanderlust in exchange for the security of having a home.
1994 January 24, David A. Kaye, “Glory Holes”, in soc.motss (Usenet):
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wanderlust | alternative | lexicographic | |
| wanderlusts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
wanderlusty · squanderlust · wanderluster · wanderlustful
Synonyms
farsickness · travel bug · itchy feet
Translations (36)
pt wanderlust (strong impulse or longing to travel) · fi vaellushalu (strong impulse or longing to travel) · hu elvágyódás (strong impulse or longing to travel) · el φιλαποδημία (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nb reiselyst (strong impulse or longing to travel) · it filapodemia (strong impulse or longing to travel) · da udlængsel (strong impulse or longing to travel) · ko 방랑벽 (strong impulse or longing to travel) · de Fernweh (strong impulse or longing to travel) · es pasión de viajar (strong impulse or longing to travel) · de Wanderlust (strong impulse or longing to travel) · hu mehetnék (strong impulse or longing to travel) · de Reiselust (strong impulse or longing to travel) · hu kalandvágy (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nl zwerflust (strong impulse or longing to travel) · ja 旅心 (strong impulse or longing to travel) · no reisefeber (strong impulse or longing to travel) · da rejselyst (strong impulse or longing to travel) · fi kaukokaipuu (strong impulse or longing to travel) · cmn 旅行癖 (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nl reislust (strong impulse or longing to travel) · gd miann siubhal (strong impulse or longing to travel) · hu vándorvágy (strong impulse or longing to travel) · da udve (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nb reisehug (strong impulse or longing to travel) · ru страсть к путешествиям (strong impulse or longing to travel) · grc περιπλάνησις (strong impulse or longing to travel) · fr bougeotte (strong impulse or longing to travel) · el περιπλάνηση (strong impulse or longing to travel) · el ταξιδομανία (strong impulse or longing to travel) · fr errance (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nl reiskoorts (strong impulse or longing to travel) · ga fonn taistil (strong impulse or longing to travel) · nb vandrelyst (strong impulse or longing to travel) · hu vándorlási kedv (strong impulse or longing to travel) · pl wanderlust (strong impulse or longing to travel)