pilgrim

[ pil-grim, -gruh m ]

/ ˈpɪl grɪm, -grəm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pilgrim ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.

a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.

an original settler in a region.

(initial capital letter) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.

a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.

Nearby words

Origin of pilgrim

1150–1200; Middle English pilegrim, pelegrim, cognate with Old Frisian pilegrīm, Middle Low German pelegrīm, Old High German piligrīm, Old Norse pīlagrīmr, all < Medieval Latin pelegrīnus, dissimilated variant of Latin peregrīnus peregrine

Related formspil·gri·mat·ic, pil·gri·mat·i·cal, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for pilgrim

Most were originally drove roads, paths to market, or pilgrim paths.
The Unfindable Place: Robert Macfarlane’s Holloway|Edward Platt|June 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Pictured above is the sculpture titled Hopeful Had Much Ado from Pilgrim's Progress.
The Future of Print!|William O’Connor|June 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The tip of the one of the spires at the National Cathedral fell onto the steps of Pilgrim Road.
Earthquake Hits the East Coast!||August 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
After reading Franny and Zooey, I read The Way of the Pilgrim.
Salinger's Final Mystery|Nathaniel Rich|January 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Eastward therefore the adventurer, the trader, and the pilgrim turned, and found in the Mediterranean their natural pathway.
Europe in the Sixteenth Century 1494-1598, Fifth Edition|A. H. (Arthur Henry) Johnson
The pilgrim and his two companions now enter the city, and proceed first to the street of the married people.
A History of Bohemian Literature|Count Ltzow
Any well-illustrated edition of "Pilgrim's Progress" will give an excellent idea of these costumes.
Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People|Constance D'Arcy Mackay
The Count passed into a narrow cellar whither the pilgrim had preceded him.
Folk-lore and Legends: German|Anonymous
I once formed one of a circle when a pilgrim returned to his native village.
In the Heart of Africa|Samuel White Baker

British Dictionary definitions for pilgrim

pilgrim

/ (ˈpɪlɡrɪm) /

noun

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

any wayfarer

Word Origin for pilgrim

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

Pilgrim

/ (ˈpɪlɡrɪm) /

noun

See Canterbury Pilgrims (def. 2)

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 pilgrim

pilgrim

c.1200, pilegrim, from Old French pelerin, peregrin "pilgrim, crusader; foreigner, stranger" (11c., Modern French pèlerin), from Late Latin pelegrinus, dissimilated from Latin peregrinus "foreigner" (source of Italian pellegrino, Spanish peregrino), from peregre (adv.) "from abroad," from per- "beyond" + agri, locative case of ager "country" (see acre).

Change of first -r- to -l- in most Romance languages by dissimilation; the -m appears to be a Germanic modification. Pilgrim Fathers "English Puritans who founded Plymouth colony" is first found 1799 (they called themselves Pilgrims from c.1630, in reference to Hebrew xi:13).