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

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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR itinerant ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR itinerant

1 settled.

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Related formsi·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 Formsitinerantly, 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

Word Origin and History for itinerant

itinerant

adj.

1560s (attested in Anglo-Latin from late 13c.), from Late Latin itinerantem (nominative itinerans), present participle of itinerare "to travel," from Latin iter (genitive itineris) "journey," from ire "go" (see ion). Originally in reference to circuit courts.