pilgrim

[pil-grim, -gruhm]

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.

pilgrim

¹

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

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

2. any wayfarer

Pilgrim

²

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. See Canterbury Pilgrims

Other Word Forms

• pilgrimatic adjective
• pilgrimatical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pilgrim¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pilgrim¹

C12: from Provençal pelegrin, from Latin peregrīnus foreign, from per through + ager field, land; see _peregrine

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on BBC

Sunday marked a special Jubilee of the Poor, one of many such celebrations during the holy year, which has drawn pilgrims from around the world.

Read more on Barron's

On Saturday, the pope called the film professionals "pilgrims of the imagination" and "narrators of hope and heralds of humanity".

Read more on Barron's

Beauty pilgrims come for savings and procedures that can’t be found in the U.S.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• settler 
• traveler