pilgrim
- 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.
Origin of pilgrim
Examples from the Web for pilgrims
Contemporary Examples
We are pilgrims, our life is a long walk or journey from earth to heaven.
After all, Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 1500s, well before the Jamestown settlers in 1607 or the Pilgrims in 1620.
In Mauritania, Chinguetti once flourished with scholars, pilgrims, and religious leaders.
Some are pilgrims from out of town, come to savor the best granola on the West Coast.
Last year, more than 20,000 pilgrims visited for the November anniversary.
Historical Examples
Pilgrims to Vaucluse must be prepared to pay dear for the privilege.
The Roof of FranceMatilda Betham-Edwards
We are all pilgrims and wanderers; but it is strange that we two should meet.
Passages from a Relinquished Work (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")Nathaniel Hawthorne
It was but too clearly indicated by the bands of pilgrims, going or returning.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
She is extremely busy; she has to see after some pilgrims who are very ill.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
In this way a great many offerings were brought by the pilgrims.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
pilgrim
- a person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion
- any wayfarer
Word Origin
Pilgrim
Word Origin and History for pilgrims
pilgrim
n.
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).
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.