Saturday, December 17, 2011

maunder



maunder [ˈmɔndər] v. i. also mander

1.) To grumble, mutter or growl. Obs.
2.) To move or act in a dreamy, idle, or inconsequent manner. Construed with along, away.
3.) To talk in the dreamy and foolish manner characteristic of dotage or imbecility; to ramble or wander in one's talk (O.E.D. 2nd Edition).

Etymology: Of obscure origin; perhaps imitative: with senses 2 and 3 cf. dander (v.).

"First, in the old days, when I was sick to death
with the horror of my life,
when I lusted to be driven into exile,
you refused that favor—for all my prayers.
But then, when I'd had my fill of rage at last
and living on in the old ancestral house seemed sweet...
then you were all for cutting, casting me away—
these ties of blood you maunder on about
meant nothing to you then."
(Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, Robert Fagles (trans.), 1979)

(Oedipus at Colonus, Jean-Antoine-Théodore Giroust, 1788)

14 comments:

MRanthrope said...

I have a tendency to maunder about while I'm at work. Usually under my breath though...as to avoid getting canned.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I was positive I knew what this meant, but I was confusing it with meander. D'oh!

Bibi said...

ryc: Argh, no one reads further than that Daily Mail one! Do I really have to put a disclaimer on top that says: "Guys, it's the Internet, and as such, I will not make any distinction between scientific and stupidity. I'm just clicking away and giving my opinion."?

And of course I was right. I'm always right. :P

D4 said...

I think I've used this one incorrectly before. Awesome!

G said...

not used this one before

Admin said...

Woah just discovered this blog, time to improve my vocab a bit to impress the posh ladies!

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Curl Jung said...

Never heard of this word ever before :P

Curl Jung said...

WHERE ARE YOU THESE DAYS? POST MORE OFTEN.

PS:- I changed my blog's url, so please un-follow and re-follow my blog so that my shitty posts keep on popping up in your Google reader.

http://teenagemutiny.blogspot.com/

Thank-you.

i_love_weed said...

interesting word dude, happy new year

Jenny Woolf said...

I always thought "Maunder" was a countryman's word. I don't know why.

I woke up last night with the word "synecdoche" in my mind. I have no idea why. I looked today for a search box on your blog to see if you'd already covered it, but can't find a search box.

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh, I forgot to say - Happy New Year!

Z said...

Where you been Mr E? I missed you!!!

Taker said...

Glad I found this blog, I love to learn new words..

+1 follower

Once Upon A Time... said...

just poppin by to say hi :)

jos xx

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