squander

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To waste, lavish, splurge; to spend lavishly or profusely; to dissipate.

   .

2. 2
   verb

   To scatter; to disperse.

   […]our ſquander’d Troops he rallies:[…]

3. 3
   verb

   To wander at random; to scatter.

   […]The Wiſe-mans folly is anathomiz’d / Euen by ſquandring glances of the foole.

4. 4
   verb

   spend extravagantly

5. 5
   verb

   spend thoughtlessly

Etymology

Earliest uses (late 16th c.) "to spend recklessly or prodigiously", also "to scatter over a wide area". Of unknown origin. Perhaps a blend of scatter + wander. Compare Danish skvætte (rare)/skvatte (“to splash”) (nominalised: skvæt), Icelandic skvetta (“to squirt”), Swedish skvätta (“to splash”), Norwegian Bokmål skvette.