In classical texts "dàngzǐ" refers to a person who wanders without settling down.
Tips
usage
宕 is a literary character meaning to put off / delay, and by extension to roam unrestrained. There is also a place-name reading 宕 used only in 宕昌 (a county in Gansu).
The roof radical 宀 on top originally evoked a cave-dwelling or covered space, the historical "cave" sense of 宕 before it drifted to meaning delay and roaming.
Below sits 石 (stone), reinforcing the early sense of a rock cave under a roof and contributing to the sound. The reading later shifted well away from shí.
