Weekly Word: Flaneur

Flaneur (or the fancy French spelling flâneur) is a noun meaning “idler; dawdler; loafer”. The word comes from French flâner, meaning “to stroll” or “to idle about”.

I recently heard this word on my first day of a poetry class at college. The professor talked about how it means “a person who walks the city in order to experience it”. Wikipedia’s entry on Flâneur explores the concept as it was used by the poet Charles Baudelaire, who apparently turned it into an entire lifestyle and way of thinking. The idea of flaneur even shows up in architecture and photography.

I’ve always enjoyed a nice stroll now and then, so I’m glad I stumbled upon this word. It adds a little poetic, Parisian romance to the idea of walking aimlessly through a city.