Word of the Day

: September 13, 2009

peregrination

noun pair-uh-gruh-NAY-shun

What It Means

: an excursion especially on foot or to a foreign country : journey

peregrination in Context

The eccentric millionaire set out on a peregrination around the world, in search of the perfect wine to complement his favorite meal.

Did You Know?

We begin our narrative of the linguistic travels of "peregrination" with the Latin word "peregrinus," which means "foreign" or "foreigner." That term also gave us the words "pilgrim" and "peregrine," the latter of which once meant "alien" but is now used as an adjective meaning "tending to wander" and a noun naming a kind of falcon. (The peregrine falcon is so named because it was traditionally captured during its first flight -- or pilgrimage -- from the nest.) From "peregrinus" we travel to the Latin verb "peregrinari" ("to travel in foreign lands") and its past participle "peregrinatus." Our final destination is the adoption into English in the 16th century of both "peregrination" and the verb "peregrinate" ("to travel especially on foot" or "to traverse").