These are the questions that keep me up at night

[conuly]

I can't figure out if the word "wanderlust" is a loanword or a calque. I think it must be a calque if we say it like we'd say an English word spelled that way, and a loanword if we say it like we'd say a German word spelled that way (or like we think Germans would say it, anyway).

Poll #19414 Wanderlust

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 125

View Respondents

How do you say the word "wanderlust"?

View Answers

With a w at the beginning
112 (89.6%)

With a v at the beginning
6 (4.8%)

I'm not sure. I've never actually said it or heard it said
7 (5.6%)

I'm not familiar with this word
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[movingfinger]

Wanderlust means desire to travel, but not with the overpowering compulsion that the English word "lust" connotes. "Lust" in German is a broader word for pleasure, zest, relish, even just fancying something whimsically. Usage in the two languages is probably makes this a distinction without a real difference.

[oloriel]

Lust on its own can just mean "feel like doing something", really. You could ask someone Hast du Lust, Schwimmen zu gehen? and it wouldn't mean "are you lusting after a swim", but just "do you feel like going for a swim?". You could have "Lust" to do a lot of things - like reading a book, shopping, going for a walk or watching TV without being compelled to do all (or any) of them. It can also be used in the sense of motivation.

But in Wanderlust, there actually is an element of being compelled, at least in modern useage - though it's not actually all that commonly used anymore. Although it has slightly different connotations, today one would be more likely to speak of being urlaubsreif, i.e., "ripe for a vacation". XD