itinerancy

American  

[ahy-tin-er-uhn-see, ih-tin-] / aɪˈtɪn ər ən si, ɪˈtɪn- /

Also itineracy

noun

1. the act of traveling from place to place.

2. a going around from place to place in the discharge of duty or the conducting of business.

3. a body of itinerants, as ministers, judges, or sales representatives.

4. the state of being itinerant.

5. the system of rotation governing the ministry of the Methodist Church.

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itinerancy British  

/ ɪˈtɪnərənsɪ, aɪ- /

noun

1. the act of itinerating

2. Methodist Church the system of appointing a minister to a circuit of churches or chapels

3. itinerants collectively

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Etymology

Origin of itinerancy

First recorded in 1780–90; itiner(ant) + -ancy

Example Sentences

She conjures José María’s itinerancy, following him from mining work to cotton picking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

“In other words, defendant has a history of itinerancy, firearms possession, and lack of candor with law enforcement, all exacerbating his risk of flight,” Lasher wrote.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 11, 2024

A particularly insightful grouping of paintings clarifies how the psychic state of Mitchell’s itinerancy manifested on canvas.

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2021

This homebound summer has been particularly unsettling for classical musicians, whose typical schedule guarantees a few months of debauched itinerancy at festivals across the world.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2020

In spite of his itinerancy and his strong sympathy with the Methodist leaders, Venn furnishes a more marked type of the rising Evangelical school than any whom we have yet noticed.

From The English Church in the Eighteenth Century by Abbey, Charles J. (Charles John)