Wanderlust WON-der-luhst German, from wandern to wander + Lust
First Known Use: 1875
noun: strong longing for or impulse toward wandering
The German word “wanderlust” has gotten a lot of attention lately. This February a movie by that title hit theaters, with Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd abandoning their Manhattan lives in hopes of finding happiness outside the city. The Wanderlust Festival launched in 2009 celebrating music and yoga in California and Vermont.
But when 60-year-old, bald grandfather Bob Hopkins uses the word in a conversation over soup and a sandwich you get the feeling he had a severe case of wanderlust before wanderlusting was cool.