different between stagger vs meander

English

Etymology

From Middle English stageren, stakeren, from Old Norse stakra (“to push, stagger”). Cognate with dialectal Danish stagre.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/?
• (US) IPA^(key): /?stæ??/
• Rhymes: -æ??(r)

Noun

stagger (plural staggers)

1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion
   • 7 October 2012, Paolo Bandini in The Guardian, Denver Broncos 21 New England Patriots 31 - as it happened

     Put down the rosary beads folks, I believe hell may just have frozen over. Peyton Manning drops back, sees nothing open and runs for a first down. If you can call that running. More like the stagger of a wounded rhino. Did the job, though

   • 1861, Ellen Wood, East Lynne Chapter 39

     Afy slowly gathered in the sense of the words. She gasped twice, as if her breath had gone, and then, with a stagger and a shiver, fell heavily to the ground.

   • 1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Stave 2

     And when old Fezziwig and Mrs. Fezziwig had gone all through the dance; advance and retire; both hands to your partner, bow and courtesy, corkscrew, thread the needle, and back again to your place; Fezziwig "cut"—cut so deftly that he appeared to wink with his legs, and came upon his feet again without a stagger.

2. (veterinary medicine) A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling

3. Bewilderment; perplexity.
4. The spacing out of various actions over time.
   • 19 April 2016, Rachel Roddy in The Guardian, Rachel Roddy’s Roman spring vegetable stew recipe

     I don’t include cured pork, although it is very nice, and rather than putting everything in the pan at once I prefer a stagger of ingredients, which ensures each one gets the right amount of time.

5. (motor racing) The difference in circumference between the left and right tires on a racing vehicle. It is used on oval tracks to make the car turn better in the corners.
6. (aviation) The horizontal positioning of a biplane, triplane, or multiplane's wings in relation to one another.

Translations

Verb

stagger (third-person singular simple present staggers, present participle staggering, simple past and past participle staggered)

1. Sway unsteadily, reel, or totter.
   1. (intransitive) In standing or walking, to sway from one side to the other as if about to fall; to stand or walk unsteadily; to reel or totter.

      She began to stagger across the room.

      • Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow.

   2. (transitive) To cause to reel or totter.

      The powerful blow of his opponent's fist staggered the boxer.
   3. (intransitive) To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail.
      • 1708, Joseph Addison, The Present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation

        The enemy staggers.

2. Doubt, waver, be shocked.
   1. (intransitive) To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate.

      • He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief.

   2. (transitive) To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock.

      He will stagger the committee when he presents his report.

      • 1640, James Howell, England's Teares for the present Warres

        whosoever will be curious to read the future story of this intricate war , if it be possible to compile a story of it , he will find himself much staggered.

      • 1796, Edmund Burke, a letter to a noble lord

        Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility.

3. (transitive) Have multiple groups doing the same thing in a uniform fashion, but starting at different, evenly-spaced, times or places (attested from 1856).
   1. To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.
   2. To arrange similar objects such that each is ahead or above and to one side of the next.

      We will stagger the starting positions for the race on the oval track.

   3. To schedule in intervals.

      We will stagger the run so the faster runners can go first, then the joggers.

Translations

See also

• bestagger
• staggeringly
• staggers

References

Anagrams

• gagster, gargets, taggers

English

Alternative forms

• mæander (archaic)

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek ????????? (Maíandros) – a river in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) known for its winding course. (Turkish Büyük Menderes Nehri)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mi?ænd?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mi?ænd?/

Noun

meander (plural meanders)

1. One of the turns of a winding, crooked, or involved course.
   • 1712, Sir Richard Blackmore, "Creation: A Philosophical Poem":

     See, how the streams advancing to the main, / Through crooked channels draw their crystal train! / While lingering thus they in meanders glide, / They scatter verdant life on either side.

2. A tortuous or intricate movement.
3. (geography) one of a series of regular sinuous curves, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse
4. Fretwork.
5. Perplexity.
6. Synonym of Greek key, a decorative border.
7. (mathematics) A self-avoiding closed curve which intersects a line a number of times.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

meander (third-person singular simple present meanders, present participle meandering, simple past and past participle meandered)

1. (intransitive) To wind or turn in a course or passage; to be intricate.
2. (transitive) To wind, turn, or twist; to make flexuous.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryton to this entry?)

Translations

Further reading

• meander on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Büyük Menderes River on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

• The Chambers Dictionary (1998)

Anagrams

• Merenda, amender, enarmed, reamend, reedman, renamed

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek ????????? (Maíandros)

Noun

meander m (definite singular meanderen, indefinite plural meandere or meandre or meandrer, definite plural meanderne or meandrene)

1. a meander (in a river)

Derived terms

• meandersjø
• meandrere

References

• “meander” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “meander” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek ????????? (Maíandros)

Noun

meander m (definite singular meanderen, indefinite plural meandrar, definite plural meandrane)

1. a meander (in a river)

Derived terms

• meandersjø

References

• “meander” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

From German Mäander, from Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek ????????? (Maíandros) – a river in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) known for its winding course.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m??an.d?r/

Noun

meander m inan

1. meander (one of a series of regular sinuous curves, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse)

   Synonym: zakole

2. meander, meandros (decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif)

Declension

Derived terms

• (adjectives) meandrowy, meandryczny, meandrowaty
• (nouns) meandryczno??
• (verb) meandrowa?

Further reading

• meander in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• meander in Polish dictionaries at PWN