itinerant

adjective

itin·​er·​ant ī-ˈti-nə-rənt 

: traveling from place to place

especially : covering a circuit

itinerant preacher

itinerant noun

itinerantly adverb

Did you know?

In Latin, iter means "way" or "journey." That root was the parent of the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning "to journey." It was that verb which ultimately gave rise to the English word for traveling types: itinerant. The linguistic grandparent, iter, also contributed to the development of other English words, including itinerary ("the route of a journey" and "the plan made for a journey") and errant ("traveling or given to traveling," as in knight-errant).

Synonyms

• ambulant
• ambulatory
• errant
• fugitive
• gallivanting
• galavanting
• nomad
• nomadic
• perambulatory
• peregrine
• peripatetic
• ranging
• roaming
• roving
• vagabond
• vagrant
• wandering
• wayfaring

Examples of itinerant in a Sentence

an itinerant musician can see a lot of the world

Recent Examples on the Web

Jared Snyder spent more than two decades as an itinerant minister before becoming disillusioned and quitting. —CBS News, 16 Dec. 2024

From across France, itinerant glassblowers, masons and carpenters — hewers, who squared the timbers, joiners, who fit beams together — converged on Paris. —Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 6 Dec. 2024

The second Miami edition of the itinerant project founded by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima will be showcased at the city’s oldest hotel, Miami River Inn in the South River Drive Historic District of East Little Havana. —Sofia Celeste, WWD, 2 Dec. 2024

Nomads who aren’t looking for love but still crave a meaningful connection with others living the itinerant lifestyle can turn to Fairytrail. —Rosie Bell, WIRED, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin itinerant-, itinerans, present participle of itinerari to journey, from Latin itiner-, iter journey, way; akin to Hittite itar way, Latin ire to go — more at issue entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1576, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

itinerant

adjective

itin·​er·​ant ī-ˈtin-ə-rənt 

ə-ˈtin-

: traveling from place to place

an itinerant preacher