Other forms: sauntering, saunters, sauntered
To saunter is to walk in a relaxed and confident way. Saunter down the road, sauntered in late, a slow saunter.
The confidence is what separates it from strolling — sauntering in late is a small act of defiance, which is why the word so often carries an edge. The origin is unknown, and the pretty story that it comes from pilgrims heading to the Sainte Terre, the Holy Land, is folk etymology.
1verbsaunterTo walk in a relaxed and confident way.
“He sauntered into the meeting late, with his hands in his pockets.”
saunter is a way of walking.
The origin of saunter is unknown. The story that it comes from pilgrims to the Sainte Terre is folk etymology.
Middle English
santren
English, today
saunter
Etymology unknown. Attested in the sense “to stroll” from the 1660s; noun sense “a stroll” attested 1828. Likely from earlier term meaning “to muse”, late 15th century, from late Middle English santren, of unknown origin. Competing theories exist:
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Ways of Moving