Meanderings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A series of winding or intricate turns and twists in a path or course
2. the act of wandering aimlessly or following a non-direct route in thoughts or discourse
3. conveying the idea of a leisurely exploration or reflective journey through ideas or places

Etymology: The river that gave us this word is the Maiandros in western Anatolia, now the Büyük Menderes in Turkey. Its channel loops so sharply across the plain that the Greeks used its name for any winding course, and Latin borrowed it as "maeander." The same looping pattern of interlocking lines on Greek pottery and buildings is also called a meander, after the river. English took the noun and then the verb, and the sense moved from the path of moving water to the path of a traveller or a mind that doubles back and turns. The noun "meandering" is formed from the verb with the "-ing" ending, and "meanderings" is its plural, used for particular wanderings of a route, a conversation, or a train of thought.

Synonyms: wanderings, ramblings, roamings, digressions