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• Wandering Jew
  Wandering Jew

  noun

  a legendary character condemned to roam without rest because he struck Christ on the day of the Crucifixion.
• wandering Jew
  wandering Jew

  noun

  any of several related creeping or trailing plants of tropical America, esp Tradescantia fluminensis and Zebrina pendula: family Commelinaceae

Wandering Jew

American  

noun

1. a legendary character condemned to roam without rest because he struck Christ on the day of the Crucifixion.

2. Also called inch plant.  Also wandering Jew, Wandering-jew any of various trailing or creeping plants, as Zebrina pendula or Tradescantia fluminensis, having green or variegated leaves: a popular houseplant.

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wandering Jew ¹ British  

noun

1. any of several related creeping or trailing plants of tropical America, esp Tradescantia fluminensis and Zebrina pendula: family Commelinaceae

2. a similar creeping plant of the genus Commelina

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Wandering Jew ² British  

noun

1. (in medieval legend) a character condemned to roam the world eternally because he mocked Christ on the day of the Crucifixion

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Etymology

Origin of Wandering Jew

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

Mr. Mintzker, a professor of history at Princeton University, begins with an investigation into the purported appearance of the Wandering Jew in post-World War II Europe and in 1950s Israel.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

But when we encounter this man in folklore, he’s known by another, more familiar name: the Wandering Jew.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2022

While Rohmer’s stories occasionally hint that Moris Klaw could be the Wandering Jew, Simon Ark actually appears to be centuries-old, a former Coptic priest who travels the world combating satanic evil.

From Washington Post • Dec. 8, 2020

In "The Library of the Wandering Jew" he suggests that books are the compasses that guide us both in our self-discovery and in our exploration of the world.

From The Guardian • Apr. 30, 2010

Joining a party, among whom was a friend of Eli Goddard's, a very charming Spaniard, and still moving on like the Wandering Jew, I went north through Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to San Francisco.

From Edgar Saltus: The Man by Saltus, Marie