flâneur

American  

[flah-nur, flah-nœr] / flɑˈnɜr, flɑˈnœr /

noun

French.

flâneurs plural

1. a person who lounges or strolls around in a seemingly aimless way; an idler or loafer.

   the flâneur, that cool, aloof observer of urban society.

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flâneur British  

/ flɑnœr /

noun

1. an idler or loafer

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• flâneurs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flâneur

First recorded in 1850–55; from French: literally, “loafer, idler, man about town,” equivalent to flân-, stem of flâner “to waste time” + -eur ( def. ); cf. flânerie ( def. )

Example Sentences

More recently, novelist Edmund White, a godfather of queer literature, delivered his ruminations in his 2016 book “The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 4, 2021

"Watchmen: Surveillance and the Flaneur," at the Torrance Art Museum.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2014

Flaneur and man-about-town though he is, Friedrich Wilhelm went down on his knees and sobbed for ten minutes after depositing the ex-Kaiser's wreath, adorned with a large "W."

From Time Magazine Archive