walkabout

See also: walk about

English

Etymology

Deverbal from walk about; the Australian aboriginal word wokabat is also derived therefrom.

Noun

walkabout (plural walkabouts)

2. (Australian aboriginal) A nomadic excursion into the bush, especially one taken by young teenage boys in certain ancient-custom honoring tribes.
4. A walking trip.
6. (British) A public stroll by some celebrity to meet a group of people informally.
   • September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     While the world altered dramatically during the course of her reign, the monarchy did too, though rather more imperceptibly: the walkabouts that increasingly characterised royal appearances, the pop concerts at Buckingham Palace, the throwing open of the royal palaces to visitors – even the paying of income tax, and royal podcasts – would have been inconceivable as innovations at the time Elizabeth came to the throne.

8. An absence, usually from a regular place with a possibility of a return.

Derived terms

• go walkabout
• walkabout disease

Translations

public stroll

• Bulgarian: обиколка (bg) f (obikolka), странстване n (stranstvane)
• Dutch: rondgang (nl) m,
• Finnish: kierros kansan parissa
• French: bain de foule (fr) m
• German: Rundgang (de) m, Bad in der Menge n
• Italian: bagno di folla m
• Polish: spacer (pl) m, wyjście (pl) n
• Spanish: baño de masas m