peripatetic

[ per-uh-puh-tet-ik ]

adjective

1. walking or traveling about; itinerant.

   Synonyms: vagrant, roving, wandering

2. (initial capital letter) of or relating to Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.
3. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Aristotelian school of philosophy.

noun

1. a person who walks or travels about.
2. (initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.

Peripatetic

¹

/ ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the teachings of Aristotle, who used to teach philosophy while walking about the Lyceum in ancient Athens

noun

1. a student of Aristotelianism

peripatetic

²

/ ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk /

adjective

1. itinerant
2. employed in two or more educational establishments and travelling from one to another

   a peripatetic football coach

noun

1. a peripatetic person

Derived Forms

• ˌperipaˈtetically, adverb

Other Words From

• peri·pa·teti·cal·ly adverb
• per·i·pa·tet·i·cism [per-, uh, -p, uh, -, tet, -, uh, -siz-, uh, m], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of peripatetic¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin peripatēticus < Greek peripatētikós of Aristotle and his school, literally, walking about, equivalent to peripatē- (verbid stem of peripateîn to walk about, equivalent to peri- peri- + pateîn to walk; akin to path ) + -tikos -tic

Word History and Origins

Origin of peripatetic¹

C16: from Latin peripatēticus, from Greek peripatētikos, from peripatein to pace to and fro

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, Al-Liby's family lived a peripatetic existence that included spells in Sudan and Qatar.

From The Daily Beast

Still, Brandolini is influenced by her background and her peripatetic youth.

From The Daily Beast

Jace Lacob talked to the peripatetic actress about her many TV roles.

From The Daily Beast

Kim Richards is the most peripatetic of the bunch, and has moved twice since shooting The Real Housewives.

From The Daily Beast

His parents were divorced, he had a peripatetic childhood, and a brother and sister both died in car accidents.

From The Daily Beast

In our time there flourished at that place remarkable persons of the Peripatetic sect of philosophers, Athenæus and Xenarchus.

From Project Gutenberg

He used to walk about when teaching and from this circumstance his sect was called (p. 056) Peripatetic.

From Project Gutenberg

There was in fact an "eternal fitness" in horse and man that was not exactly a "standing joke," but a peripatetic one.

From Project Gutenberg

There were the Italian peripatetic vendors of weather-glasses, who had their headquarters at Norwich.

From Project Gutenberg

He passed for a peripatetic storehouse of anecdotes, specially crammed with old and worn-out officers stories.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• itinerant
• nomadic
• roving