Wandle

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A small river flowing through south London into the Thames, known for its historic industrial mills and its place in local history ; an old verb meaning to roam aimlessly or drift away from a set path
2. The name of a small watercourse in south London that flows toward the Thames ; an archaic verb describing the act of moving about without a fixed course or destination
3. A minor river in the London borough area that empties into the Thames ; a dated term for wandering or going astray without a clear direction

Etymology: The river's name is much older than the English words around it, and its origin is uncertain. Scholars have proposed a pre-English root meaning something like "winding" or "to turn," which would suit a stream that twists through south London, but no reading is settled. The river's name survives in Wandsworth, the district where the Wandle meets the Thames. The second element, "worth," is an Old English word for an enclosure or homestead, so Wandsworth means something like "the enclosure on the Wandle." The river itself still runs through parts of south London in culverts and open channels, and the same name serves for both the stream and the town built on its banks.