pilgrim
[ pil-grim, -gruh m ]
/ ˈpɪl grɪm, -grəm /
|
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.
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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 forms
pil·gri·mat·ic, pil·gri·mat·i·cal, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pilgrims
British Dictionary definitions for pilgrims (1 of 2)
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
British Dictionary definitions for pilgrims (2 of 2)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Culture definitions for pilgrims
Pilgrims
A group of English Puritans, persecuted in their own country, who emigrated to America. The first group arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. They landed at Plymouth Rock, in what is now Massachusetts, and established the Plymouth Colony, with the Mayflower Compact as their constitution. William Bradford and Miles Standish were noted leaders of the colony.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.