Wanderjahr
Americannoun
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a year or period of travel, especially following one's schooling and before practicing a profession.
-
(formerly) a year in which an apprentice traveled and improved his skills before settling down to the practice of his trade.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Wanderjahr
First recorded in 1890–95; German: literally, “wander year”; see origin at wander ( def. ), year ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before this Wanderjahr, Dadd's early reputation had been based on painting fairies, elves, goblins and other more or less demure inhabitants of the Victorian psychic zoo.
From Time Magazine Archive
On a Wanderjahr around the world in 1908, Bayard stopped off at the American University of Beirut, in the Lebanon.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Storyteller grew famous by turning the travels of a tweedy, 2-in.-tall mouse into a memorable Wanderjahr for children, loaded with longing and nostalgia.
From Time Magazine Archive
Potter Rosenthal admires the U. S. The Wanderjahr to which every well-to-do German youth feels entitled, Potter Rosenthal spent on the western plains in 1874 as "ein wirklicher Cowboy."
From Time Magazine Archive
And yet—the lady in this case was to all appearances soundly and securely asleep; the mouse, on the other hand, seemed to be trying to crowd a Wanderjahr into a few strenuous minutes.
From Reginald in Russia and other sketches by Saki
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
