wanderjahr

• Wanderjahr

From German Wanderjahr (“journeyman’s year”), from wandern (“wander, trek”) + Jahr (“year”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɑn.də(ɹ)ˌjɑː/, IPA^(key): /ˈwɑn.də(ɹ)ˌjɑː/

wanderjahr (plural wanderjahrs or wanderjahre)

1. A year-long period of travel, especially following one’s education and prior to seeking employment.

   Synonym: gap year

   • 1971 June 27, Peter Sourian, “The Drifters”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Once he has assembled his characters in the lively youth resort of Torremolinos, Michener packs them into a Volkswagen bus and sends them on their Wanderjahr through some pretty interesting places.

   • 1987, Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, Vintage, published 1998, page 216:

     And these Wanderjahre, and combats with the Beast, are the story-teller's version of the incest taboo; whereby a man must first prove ‘fitness’ and then much ‘marry far’.

   • 2017 October 30, Raillan Brooks, “Why Send a Journalist on a 52-Week Trot Around the Globe?”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     When she initially conceived of the “52 Places” job and worked with video, interactives, and masthead editors to develop its duties, Ms. Drake thought of it as a sort of “grown-up gap year,” a reflection of the growing popularity, over the last few decades, of Wanderjahr-like jaunts.

2. (historical) A year spent by an apprentice travelling and honing skills prior to the professional practice of a trade.