A Stroller Was Once a Wanderer, Not a Pushchair
To stroll is to walk in a relaxed way. The word came from a German term for a vagrant, and in America a stroller is a baby's pushchair.
To stroll is to walk slowly and without urgency. The word probably comes from German *strolchen*, to wander about like a vagrant, and it entered English in the 1600s with a distinctly disreputable edge — strolling players were travelling actors, and the law treated them as vagrants. In American English a *stroller* is now a baby's pushchair, which is a considerable rehabilitation.
- To walk leisurely. *They strolled along the front.*
- Noun, such a walk. *An evening stroll.*
- Stroller (American) — a pushchair. *Fold the stroller.*
- Strolling players — travelling actors. *A company of strolling players.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | stroll | Stroll home. |
| Past | strolled | We strolled back. |
| Noun | stroll | A short stroll. |
| Agent | stroller | A folding stroller. |
| Related | saunter | A slow saunter. |
- We strolled through the market.Relaxed walking.
- It is a five-minute stroll from the station.Suggests ease as well as distance.
- The team strolled to a comfortable win.Figurative: effortlessly.
British and American baby vocabulary
- Stroller — American; pushchair or buggy in Britain
- Diaper — American; nappy in Britain
- Pacifier — American; dummy in Britain
- Crib — American; cot in Britain
- Onesie — means different garments in the two countries
Probably from German *strolchen*, to wander, from *Strolch*, a vagabond. English recorded it in the 1600s, initially with the sense of wandering without settled purpose.
Why is a pushchair called a stroller in America?
Because it is what you take on a stroll. The name follows the activity rather than the mechanism.
What were strolling players?
Travelling theatre companies. English law often classed them with vagrants, which is why patronage from a noble household mattered so much.