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Ramble

//ˈɹæmbəl// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A leisurely stroll; a recreational walk in the countryside.

    "Marianne was prevailed upon to join her sisters in their usual walk, instead of wandering away by herself. Hitherto she had carefully avoided every companion in her rambles. If her sisters intended to walk on the downs, she directly stole away towards the lanes;[…]"

  2. 2
    an aimless amble on a winding course wordnet
  3. 3
    A rambling; an instance of someone talking at length without direction.
  4. 4
    A bed of shale over the seam of coal.
  5. 5
    A section of woodland suitable for leisurely walking.

    "Someone proposed that we play in one of the small clearings in a gay crusing ^([sic]) area in Central Park called the rambles."

Verb
  1. 1
    To move about aimlessly, or on a winding course.
  2. 2
    move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment wordnet
  3. 3
    To walk for pleasure; to amble or saunter.
  4. 4
    continue talking or writing in a desultory manner wordnet
  5. 5
    To lead the life of a vagabond or itinerant; to move about with no fixed place of address.

    "1994, Richard Thompson, “Beeswing” We was drinking more in those days and tempers reached a pitch And like a fool I let her run with the rambling itch"

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    To talk or write incessantly, unclearly, or incoherently, with many digressions. often, with-on

    "Francine has a tendency to ramble when it gets to be late in the evening."

  2. 7
    To follow a winding path or course.

    "The river rambled through the mountains."

Etymology

Etymology 1

An altered form (with dissimilation of mm to mb) of dialectal rammle, from Middle English *ramlen, *ramelen, frequentative of Middle English ramen (“to roam, ramble”); compare Swedish ramla (“to stumble; fall; make a noise; rumble”), Danish ramle (“to stumble; collapse; thunder; boom”); equivalent to roam + -le. "mid-15 c., perhaps frequentative of 'romen' 'to walk, go' perhaps via 'romblen' (late 14 c.) 'to ramble.' The vowel change perhaps by influence of Middle Dutch 'rammelen,' a derivative of 'rammen' 'copulate,' 'used of the night wanderings of the amorous cat.' Meaning 'to talk or write incoherently' is from 1630s".

Etymology 2

An altered form (with dissimilation of mm to mb) of dialectal rammle, from Middle English *ramlen, *ramelen, frequentative of Middle English ramen (“to roam, ramble”); compare Swedish ramla (“to stumble; fall; make a noise; rumble”), Danish ramle (“to stumble; collapse; thunder; boom”); equivalent to roam + -le. "mid-15 c., perhaps frequentative of 'romen' 'to walk, go' perhaps via 'romblen' (late 14 c.) 'to ramble.' The vowel change perhaps by influence of Middle Dutch 'rammelen,' a derivative of 'rammen' 'copulate,' 'used of the night wanderings of the amorous cat.' Meaning 'to talk or write incoherently' is from 1630s".

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