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Contact - Email | Twitter | View Credit & References
My Word Posts - #BeautifulWords | Pinterest Boards
My Portfolio of Books, Blogs and Beautiful Words
SEARCH SITE BELOW OR USE ADVANCED SEARCH to search this site and content of my vocabulary books
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FEATURE; TRANSLATING THE UNTRANSLATABLE - this feature is a huge dictionary of untranslatable words or words from other language that don’t easily translate into English.
CATEGORY: THE SAUCY SONG OF SLANG - explore the colloquialisms, jargon, lingo and slang for different languages or cultures.
The Winding Paths of Wanderlust
WHAT IS WANDERLUST?
A strong and intense need to travel and see the world. To journey or wander looking for adventure or to just get away. The wanderers don't necessarily need to go anywhere in particular; they just don't care to stay home or in one spot. Robert Louis Stevenson said in Travels with a Donkey, "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
The term originates from the German words wandern ('to hike') and Lust ('desire'), literally translated as 'enjoyment of hiking', although it is commonly described as 'enjoyment of strolling, roaming about, or wandering'. The first documented use of the term in English was in 1902 in context of a reflection of the German predilection for wandering - which traces back to German Romanticism and the system of apprenticeship (what is known as ‘the journeyman’). It can also be associated with the seeking of unity with nature.
Wanderlust may reflect:
- An intense urge for self-fulfillment by exploring the unknown and confronting unforeseen challenges
- Discovering new cultures, ways of life and meeting new people
- The desire to escape and leave behind their worries, stress and melancholy
- Dissatisfaction with the restrictions of home may be seen in adolescents and young adults eager to “get out and see the world. “
Wanderlust is less common now that the word fernweh - meaning literarily 'far-sickness', was coined as an antonym to the word heimweh, meaning ‘homesickness.’
ACATALEPSY - Greek
The idea that it is impossible to truly comprehend anything.
ABSQUATULATE
To leave without saying goodbye.
BALLAGARRAIDH -Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The awareness that you are not at home in the wilderness
BILDUNGSREISE
In post-Enlightenment Europe, upper-class bachelors were encouraged to embark upon a Bildungsreise (roughly, 'cultural education journey'), often sightseeing trips to Italy or France.
COCKAIGNE - French
French ideal that refers to the imaginary lands of luxury and idleness. The daydreams of exotic locales, or exciting adventures or solitary treks through the countryside. The term cockaigne comes from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne, which literally means “the land of plenty.”
COMMUOVERE - Italian
Heartwarming, something that stirs and moves you.
CODDIWOMPLE
To travel purposefully towards a vague destination.
DÉRIVE - French
The spontaneous and unplanned journey where you leave your life behind and allow yourself to be guided by the landscape, beauty and architecture. Literally translated as “drift”, dérive is the idea that even if you drift you will end up on the right path. When you’re wandering aimlessly in a new city sometimes you just happen to wander down the path to discovery.
DÉPAYSEMENT - French
Feeling that comes from not being in one’s own country. Being out of your element, a fish out of water.
DROMOMANIA
Was a historical psychiatric diagnosis with the primary symptom of uncontrollable urges to walk or wander. Dromomania has also been referred to as traveling fugue. Non-clinically, the term has come to be used to describe a desire for frequent traveling or wanderlust.
ELEUTHEROMANIA - Greek
Greek passion and intensity to get away and the irresistible desire for the freedom that comes with it, The level of this intensity can vary from escaping the day to day doldrums to escaping to start a new life. Subjective meaning allows the reader to decide what it means to you.
EUDAIMONIA - Greek
The contented happy state. In That bursting feeling in your chest when you travel when it all feels right.
FERNWEH - German
Farsickness. This German word,means an burning ache to get away and travel to a distant place, a feeling that may sound like wanderlust but goes deeper than that. It literally translates to “distance-sickness.” It’s not a daydream for adventure as much as it is a feeling homesickness.
FLÂNEUR - French
Someone who strolls aimlessly but enjoyably, observing life and the surroundings. Taken from the French flâner, meaning to stroll or saunter, this word describes someone who has no particular plans or place they need to be. They merely stroll around the city at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights and enjoying the day as it unfolds.
GADABOUT
A person who travels often or to many different places, especially for pleasure
HEIMWEH - German
A longing for home
HIREATH - Welsh
This Welsh word means ‘homesickness’, but not in its traditional sense. Hiraeth is the concept of yearning for something, a place, an era in time or a state of being which may no longer be in existence. There is no equivalent translation in English but is one of the most perfect word to describe this version of homesickness.
HODOPHILE - Greek
“Lover of roads. One who loves to travel.
Does this travel word really need an explanation?
HYGGE -Danish
The cosy feeling you get while you’re enjoying the good things in life with friends.
KOMOREBI - Japanese
The sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.
LIVSNJUTARE - Swedish
Someone who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme.
MÅNGATA - Swedish
The reflection of the moon on the water.
MORII - Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The desire to capture a fleeting moment -
NEFELIBATA - Portuguese
One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination, or who does not obey the conventions of society, literature or art. An unconventional person.
NEMOPHILIST
A haunter of woods, one who loves the forest and it’s beauty and solitude.
NUMINOUS - Latin
Feeling both fearful and awed by what is before you.
ONISM - Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience.
PEREGRINATE - Latin
To travel or wander around from place to place. For the nomads amongst us, those who call the world their home and almost constantly move from place to place. For the rest of us, it’s just another way to describe what we love so much: travel.
PERIPATETIC - Greek
A person who spends his time wandering and is Greek origins, Peripatetic describes traveling from place to place, in particular, working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
QUAQUAVERSAL - Latin
Latin for the moving and shaking that happens in every direction instantaneously. Like when you get to your destination and are overwhelmed and want to do it all right there and then.
RESFEBER – Swedish
The meaning of resfeber refers to the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins when excitement, anxiety, anticipation and fear are all jumbled up in your head like a big salad.
RUCKKEHRUNRUHE - German
The feeling of returning home after a trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness
SAUDADE - Portuguese
Nostalgia and the love that remains. A desire to be near to something or someone distant.
SCHWELLENANGST - German
The fear of crossing a threshold. To cross the road or turn the page and begin a new path, or start a new chapter. From the German schwelle meaning “threshold” and angst meaning “anxiety.” It may make you question if - yikes - did I make the right decision?
SEHNSUCHT - German
Another German word of wistful longing in the heart for travel. This one yearns for a journey but with an inconsolable sense of longing for distant lands they may not even be able to identify nor have they ever been.
SELCOUTH - Old English
Strange and uncommon, the way you see things when you travel.
SERENDIPITY
The natural ability of making desirable discoveries by accident
SHINRIN-YOKU - Japanese
Forest bath; a visit to the forest to take in it’s atmosphere
SPRACHGEFUHL - German
A person who has the feel for a language
SMULTRONSTÄLLE - Swedish
Literally “place of wild strawberries” a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness.
SOLIVAGANT - Latin
A wanderer: a solitary adventurer who travels the globe. From the Latin word solivagus, meaning lonely or solitary, solivagant describes anyone who enjoys meandering around new countries, alone, in order to to their own way and seek out the adventures they have dreamed of.
STURMFREI - German
The freedom of being alone and being able to do what you want - when you want - and how you want. Literally translating to “stormfree”, this describes the freedom of not being watched by others and being alone in a place where you have the freedom and ability to do what you want.
TROUVAILLE - French
A chance encounter with something wonderful. Whether it’s stumbling across a hidden back street, a quaint cafe, or connecting with a local, trouvaille describes those magical moments we experience in our journeys.
UKIYO - Japanese
“The floating world” — living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life
VAGARY - Latin
A whimsical journey. From Latin, vagārī meaning “to roam”, vagary is an unpredictable idea, desire or action that leads to traveling without knowing the destination and not even caring.
VORFREUDE - German
The joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures.
WAYFARER
Someone who travels, especially on foot.
YOKO MESHI - Japanese
The stress of speaking a foreign language.
YŪGEN - Japanese
An awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and mysterious for words.
The idea that it is impossible to truly comprehend anything.
ABSQUATULATE
To leave without saying goodbye.
BALLAGARRAIDH -Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The awareness that you are not at home in the wilderness
BILDUNGSREISE
In post-Enlightenment Europe, upper-class bachelors were encouraged to embark upon a Bildungsreise (roughly, 'cultural education journey'), often sightseeing trips to Italy or France.
COCKAIGNE - French
French ideal that refers to the imaginary lands of luxury and idleness. The daydreams of exotic locales, or exciting adventures or solitary treks through the countryside. The term cockaigne comes from the Middle French phrase pais de cocaigne, which literally means “the land of plenty.”
COMMUOVERE - Italian
Heartwarming, something that stirs and moves you.
CODDIWOMPLE
To travel purposefully towards a vague destination.
DÉRIVE - French
The spontaneous and unplanned journey where you leave your life behind and allow yourself to be guided by the landscape, beauty and architecture. Literally translated as “drift”, dérive is the idea that even if you drift you will end up on the right path. When you’re wandering aimlessly in a new city sometimes you just happen to wander down the path to discovery.
DÉPAYSEMENT - French
Feeling that comes from not being in one’s own country. Being out of your element, a fish out of water.
DROMOMANIA
Was a historical psychiatric diagnosis with the primary symptom of uncontrollable urges to walk or wander. Dromomania has also been referred to as traveling fugue. Non-clinically, the term has come to be used to describe a desire for frequent traveling or wanderlust.
ELEUTHEROMANIA - Greek
Greek passion and intensity to get away and the irresistible desire for the freedom that comes with it, The level of this intensity can vary from escaping the day to day doldrums to escaping to start a new life. Subjective meaning allows the reader to decide what it means to you.
EUDAIMONIA - Greek
The contented happy state. In That bursting feeling in your chest when you travel when it all feels right.
FERNWEH - German
Farsickness. This German word,means an burning ache to get away and travel to a distant place, a feeling that may sound like wanderlust but goes deeper than that. It literally translates to “distance-sickness.” It’s not a daydream for adventure as much as it is a feeling homesickness.
FLÂNEUR - French
Someone who strolls aimlessly but enjoyably, observing life and the surroundings. Taken from the French flâner, meaning to stroll or saunter, this word describes someone who has no particular plans or place they need to be. They merely stroll around the city at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights and enjoying the day as it unfolds.
GADABOUT
A person who travels often or to many different places, especially for pleasure
HEIMWEH - German
A longing for home
HIREATH - Welsh
This Welsh word means ‘homesickness’, but not in its traditional sense. Hiraeth is the concept of yearning for something, a place, an era in time or a state of being which may no longer be in existence. There is no equivalent translation in English but is one of the most perfect word to describe this version of homesickness.
HODOPHILE - Greek
“Lover of roads. One who loves to travel.
Does this travel word really need an explanation?
HYGGE -Danish
The cosy feeling you get while you’re enjoying the good things in life with friends.
KOMOREBI - Japanese
The sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees.
LIVSNJUTARE - Swedish
Someone who loves life deeply and lives it to the extreme.
MÅNGATA - Swedish
The reflection of the moon on the water.
MORII - Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
The desire to capture a fleeting moment -
NEFELIBATA - Portuguese
One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination, or who does not obey the conventions of society, literature or art. An unconventional person.
NEMOPHILIST
A haunter of woods, one who loves the forest and it’s beauty and solitude.
NUMINOUS - Latin
Feeling both fearful and awed by what is before you.
ONISM - Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Awareness of how little of the world you’ll experience.
PEREGRINATE - Latin
To travel or wander around from place to place. For the nomads amongst us, those who call the world their home and almost constantly move from place to place. For the rest of us, it’s just another way to describe what we love so much: travel.
PERIPATETIC - Greek
A person who spends his time wandering and is Greek origins, Peripatetic describes traveling from place to place, in particular, working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
QUAQUAVERSAL - Latin
Latin for the moving and shaking that happens in every direction instantaneously. Like when you get to your destination and are overwhelmed and want to do it all right there and then.
RESFEBER – Swedish
The meaning of resfeber refers to the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins when excitement, anxiety, anticipation and fear are all jumbled up in your head like a big salad.
RUCKKEHRUNRUHE - German
The feeling of returning home after a trip only to find it fading rapidly from your awareness
SAUDADE - Portuguese
Nostalgia and the love that remains. A desire to be near to something or someone distant.
SCHWELLENANGST - German
The fear of crossing a threshold. To cross the road or turn the page and begin a new path, or start a new chapter. From the German schwelle meaning “threshold” and angst meaning “anxiety.” It may make you question if - yikes - did I make the right decision?
SEHNSUCHT - German
Another German word of wistful longing in the heart for travel. This one yearns for a journey but with an inconsolable sense of longing for distant lands they may not even be able to identify nor have they ever been.
SELCOUTH - Old English
Strange and uncommon, the way you see things when you travel.
SERENDIPITY
The natural ability of making desirable discoveries by accident
SHINRIN-YOKU - Japanese
Forest bath; a visit to the forest to take in it’s atmosphere
SPRACHGEFUHL - German
A person who has the feel for a language
SMULTRONSTÄLLE - Swedish
Literally “place of wild strawberries” a special place discovered, treasured, returned to for solace and relaxation; a personal idyll free from stress or sadness.
SOLIVAGANT - Latin
A wanderer: a solitary adventurer who travels the globe. From the Latin word solivagus, meaning lonely or solitary, solivagant describes anyone who enjoys meandering around new countries, alone, in order to to their own way and seek out the adventures they have dreamed of.
STURMFREI - German
The freedom of being alone and being able to do what you want - when you want - and how you want. Literally translating to “stormfree”, this describes the freedom of not being watched by others and being alone in a place where you have the freedom and ability to do what you want.
TROUVAILLE - French
A chance encounter with something wonderful. Whether it’s stumbling across a hidden back street, a quaint cafe, or connecting with a local, trouvaille describes those magical moments we experience in our journeys.
UKIYO - Japanese
“The floating world” — living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life
VAGARY - Latin
A whimsical journey. From Latin, vagārī meaning “to roam”, vagary is an unpredictable idea, desire or action that leads to traveling without knowing the destination and not even caring.
VORFREUDE - German
The joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures.
WAYFARER
Someone who travels, especially on foot.
YOKO MESHI - Japanese
The stress of speaking a foreign language.
YŪGEN - Japanese
An awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and mysterious for words.
This site is a part of
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS BY KAI
The Collection Includes:
Defining the Brain: Website | Downloads (science)
A Beautiful Word: Website | Downloads (rare/obscure)
The Logophile Lexicon: Website | Book (literary)
Defining New Ideas: Website | Book (creativity)
Author Homepage: Bookshelf by Kairos (all my work)
Words posted by @kairosoflife on Twitter under the hashtag #beautifulwords and on my vocabulary bulletin boards on Pinterest.
Original content © 2020 Copyright, Kairos
A SERIES OF BEAUTIFUL WORDS BY KAI
The Collection Includes:
Defining the Brain: Website | Downloads (science)
A Beautiful Word: Website | Downloads (rare/obscure)
The Logophile Lexicon: Website | Book (literary)
Defining New Ideas: Website | Book (creativity)
Author Homepage: Bookshelf by Kairos (all my work)
Words posted by @kairosoflife on Twitter under the hashtag #beautifulwords and on my vocabulary bulletin boards on Pinterest.
Original content © 2020 Copyright, Kairos
