pilgrim

American  

[pil-grim, -gruhm] / ˈpɪl grɪm, -grəm /

noun

1. a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.

   pilgrims to the Holy Land.

2. a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.

3. an original settler in a region.

4. (initial capital letter) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.

5. a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.

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pilgrim ¹ British  

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. a person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion

2. any wayfarer

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Pilgrim ² British  

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. See Canterbury Pilgrims

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Other Word Forms

• pilgrimatic adjective
• pilgrimatical adjective

Etymology

Origin of pilgrim

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pelegrim, pilegrim, cognate with Old Frisian pilegrīm, Middle Low German pelegrīm, Old High German piligrīm, Old Norse pīlagrīmr, all from Medieval Latin pelegrīnus, dissimilated variant of Latin peregrīnus peregrine

Example Sentences

Many pilgrims arrived at the basilica with artifacts of devotion — mostly statues of Guadalupe from their local churches.

From Los Angeles Times

Addressing a crowd of an estimated 150,000 people — including much of Lebanon’s political class — Leo described himself as “a pilgrim of hope to the Middle East.”

From Los Angeles Times

More Christian pilgrims have made their way to Iznik since the papal visit was announced, and numbers are expected to grow.

From The Wall Street Journal

This achievement is the reward for over 18 months of graft in which he "took up his pilgrim's staff to convince dual nationals to join the adventure" and worked to improve conditions for the team.

From Barron's

Forty-five Indian pilgrims have been killed after the bus they were travelling in caught fire in an accident near Medina in Saudi Arabia, the police commissioner of India's Hyderabad city has said.

From BBC

Related Words

• settler
• traveler