peripatetic

American  

[per-uh-puh-tet-ik] / ˌpɛr ə pəˈtɛt ɪk /

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.

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noun

1. a person who walks or travels about.

2. (initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.

peripatetic ¹ British  

/ ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk /

adjective

1. itinerant

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

   a peripatetic football coach

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noun

1. a peripatetic person

Peripatetic ² British  

/ ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk /

adjective

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

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noun

1. a student of Aristotelianism

Other Word Forms

• peripatetically adverb
• peripateticism noun

Etymology

Origin of peripatetic

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

Example Sentences

The peripatetic, polarizing basketball coach steers St. John’s to its first Sweet 16 in 27 seasons.

From The Wall Street Journal

This was a fossilized program taking on a divisive, peripatetic local who’d pledged his prior job was going to be his “last job.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He has “always been peripatetic. I don’t like to be still. But I don’t think I took nearly the joy out of walking that I take now.”

From The Wall Street Journal

When Covid hit in 2020, she was working as a full-time peripatetic music teacher, and as learning moved online, she realised she was no longer tied to the UK.

From BBC

Over the course of her long and peripatetic life, Carrington never stopped creating, producing hundreds—possibly thousands—of paintings.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• itinerant
• nomadic
• roving