Ambles

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈæm.bəlz/

Definitions

1. Progressing at a gentle and unhurried pace while enjoying the environment
2. Walking slowly and leisurely, often for pleasure rather than purpose
3. Moving forward in a slow and easy manner without hurry

Etymology: "Ambles" is the third-person singular form of "amble," so it describes someone or something moving at a leisurely pace. The verb "amble" came into Middle English as "amblen," borrowed from Old French "ambler," meaning "walk as a horse does." That sense is the key to its history: the original idea was specifically the smooth, gliding gait of a horse, in which the legs on each side move together, rather than walking in general. The Old French verb traces back through Old Occitan "amblar" to Latin "ambulare," "to walk." That Latin root is also the source of "ambulate," which is a doublet of "amble": the two English words descend from the same Latin verb but reached the language by different routes, with "ambulate" taken directly from Latin in a more formal form and "amble" arriving through French.

Synonyms: strolls, saunters, meanders, wander, roams

Antonyms: rushes, sprints, hurries, dashes, bolts