2020-11-03 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด M - maunder & meander

Revision M-Q

2020-11-03

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด M - maunder & meander

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Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง maunder = ‘MAWN-der’

ออกเสียง meander = ‘mee-AN-der’

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Wander Towards Maunder

Maunder looks a lot like meander,

and that's not all the two words have in common

-both mean "to wander aimlessly," eitherphysically or in speech.

Some critics have suggested that

while meander can describe a person's verbal and physical rambling,

in addition to the wanderings of things like paths and streams,

maunder should be limited to wandering words.

The problem with that reasoning

is that maunder has been used of the physical movements of people since at least 1775,

whereas meander didn't acquire that use until around 1831.

These days, meander tends to be the more common choice,

although maunder does continue to turn up in both applications.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Choose the Right Synonym for meander

Verb

WANDER, ROAM, RAMBLE, ROVE, TRAIPSE, MEANDER

mean to go about from place to place usually without a plan or definite purpose.

WANDER implies an absence of or an indifference to a fixed course.

fond of wandering about the square just watching the people

ROAM suggests wandering about freely and often far afield. liked to roam through the woods

RAMBLE stresses carelessness and indifference to one's course or objective. the speaker rambled on without ever coming to the point

ROVE suggests vigorous and sometimes purposeful roaming. armed brigands roved over the countryside

TRAIPSE implies a course that is erratic but may sometimes be purposeful. traipsed all over town looking for the right dress

MEANDER implies a winding or intricate course suggestive of aimless or listless wandering. the river meanders for miles through rich farmland

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

'Meander'

Meander was in the news last week,

after an official with President Trump’s re-election campaign

used the word to describe the path of Joe Biden,

when the former Vice-President was visiting the grave of his son.

In a tweet Sunday from the account of Francis Brennan, the Trump campaign's Director of Strategic Response, said Biden was "meandering along"

instead of talking to reporters during a Sunday morning visit to attend mass at the St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
— Tom Porter, Business Insider, 7 Sept. 2020

We define meander as “to follow a winding or intricate course”

or “to wander aimlessly or casually without urgent destination.”

The word has a riverine etymology, as it may be traced to the Greek name for a river, Maiandros (now called Menderes), found in Asia Minor.

Meander first meandered into the language in the late 16th century, but it wasn't a verb;

it was a noun meaning "a turn or winding of a stream."

The word came to English (by way of Latin) from Greek, from a river in Asia Minor called "Maiandros," now known as "Menderes." Samuel Johnson used the word with the meaning of "a winding path or course," and it also functions as a synonymof labyrinth.

The more popular verb use dates to the early 17th century and means both "to follow a winding or intricate course" and "to ramble."

Dictionary of Problem Words and Expression

maunder & meander

Maunder means “to talk in a meaningless, rambling, foolish way”:

“The speaker maundered on an on for what seems hours.”

Meander means “to ramble,” “to wander aimlessly,” “to go by an indirect cause”:

“The stream meandered down the mountainside.”

It is true, however, that one can meandered  in speech as well as in movement,

so that a speaker can be said to meander or maunder.

If the wandering in speech is clever or brilliant, can it meandering;

if it is dull and pointless, call it maundering.