itinerant

[ ahy-tin-er-uhnt, ih-tin- ]

/ aɪˈtɪn ər ənt, ɪˈtɪn- /

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adjective

traveling from place to place, especially on a circuit, as a minister, judge, or sales representative; itinerating; journeying.

characterized by such traveling: itinerant preaching.

working in one place for a comparatively short time and then moving on to work in another place, usually as a physical or outdoor laborer; characterized by alternating periods of working and wandering: an itinerant farm hand.

noun

a person who alternates between working and wandering.

a person who travels from place to place, especially for duty or business.

Nearby words

ithome, ithunn, ithyphallic, itháki, itinerancy, itinerant, itinerarium, itinerary, itinerate, itn, ito

Origin of itinerant

1560–70; < Late Latin itinerant- (stem of itinerāns), present participle of itinerārī to journey, equivalent to itiner- (stem of iter) journey (see iter) + -ant- -ant

SYNONYMS FOR itinerant

1, 3 wandering, nomadic, migratory, unsettled, roving, roaming; peripatetic.

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ANTONYMS FOR itinerant

1 settled.

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Related forms

i·tin·er·ant·ly, adverbun·i·tin·er·ant, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for itinerant

Unlike Brunner, Remer was itinerant, and spent much time in that other nest of postwar Nazis—Cairo.
Hitler’s Henchmen in Arabia|Guy Walters|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the meantime, he continued his itinerant existence, sometimes living for months in his Airstream trailer with no phone.
J.J. Cale, Dead at 74, Was a Songwriter Beyond Compare|Malcolm Jones|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This 13th-century fresco of a lion was painted near Burgos in Spain, probably by an itinerant English artist from Winchester.
Caught by the Tale at the Cloisters|Blake Gopnik|March 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From there, Leo lived an itinerant childhood, eventually winding up in England.
Melissa Leo Breaks Oscar Silence|Jacob Bernstein|February 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

It's a memoir of growing up as the son of an itinerant Arabist foreign service officer.
The Daily Beast's Favorite Books of 2010|The Daily Beast|December 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Some of these itinerant writing craftsmen had professional fame.
In Our Town|William Allen White
Before they came to live in the other part, she had taken a dozen lessons of an itinerant drawing-master.
Atlantic Monthly,Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864|Various
With the close of his itinerant labors, we now come to another important and interesting epoch in his life.
Biography of Rev. Hosea Ballou|Maturin M. Ballou
It was much in favour with itinerant dealers of all kinds, and equally so with beggars.
Old and New Paris, v. 1|Henry Sutherland Edwards
An itinerant lecturer upon an unpopular cause has enough hot water without seeking out a geyser.
The Wanderings of a Spiritualist|Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for itinerant

itinerant

/ (ɪˈtɪnərənt, aɪ-) /

adjective

itinerating

working for a short time in various places, esp as a casual labourer

noun

an itinerant worker or other person

Derived Forms

itinerantly, adverb

Word Origin for itinerant

C16: from Late Latin itinerārī to travel, from iter a journey

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012