flâneur

flaw-NUR´

A flâneur is a man who strolls about town, often observing society; an idler or dawdler.

The term dates to the late 19th century, soon after Paris had been redesigned with wide, leafy boulevards lined with elegant mansions and apartment buildings.

At that time, a flâneur was a man, usually of independent means, who wandered these new boulevards in search of amusement, adventure, and enlightenment.

Today the term refers to strollers, saunterers, and men-about-town of any city.

Plural: flâneurs (flaw-NUR´), pronounced the same as the
singular.

Bonus words: what flâneurs do is called flânerie (flawn-REE´);
a female flâneur is a flâneuse (flaw-NOOCE´).