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vagrant

[ vey-gruhnt ]
/ ˈveɪ grənt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR vagrant

noun

adjective

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Origin of vagrant

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English vagaraunt, apparently present participle of unattested Anglo-French vagrer, perhaps from unattested Middle English vagren, blend of vagen (from Latin vagārī “to wander”) and unattested walcren (becoming Old French wa(u)crer), equivalent to walc- (see walk) + -r- frequentative suffix + -en infinitive suffix

synonym study for vagrant

1. Vagrant, vagabond describe an idle, disreputable person who lacks a fixed abode. Vagrant suggests a tramp, a person with no settled abode or livelihood, an idle and disorderly person: picked up by police as a vagrant. Vagabond especially emphasizes the idea of worthless living, often by trickery, thieving, or other disreputable means: Actors were once classed with rogues and vagabonds.

OTHER WORDS FROM vagrant

Words nearby vagrant

vagotomy, vagotonia, vagotropic, vagovagal, vagrancy, vagrant, vagrant's disease, vagrom, vague, vaguely, vagus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to vagrant

transient, itinerant, wanderer, drifter, floater, street person, rolling stone

Example sentences from the Web for vagrant

British Dictionary definitions for vagrant

vagrant
/ (ˈveɪɡrənt) /

noun

a person of no settled abode, income, or job; tramp
a migratory animal that is off course

adjective

wandering about; nomadic
of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant or vagabond
moving in an erratic fashion, without aim or purpose; wayward
(of plants) showing uncontrolled or straggling growth
Archaic equivalent: vagrom (ˈveɪɡrəm)

Derived forms of vagrant

vagrantly, adverbvagrantness, noun

Word Origin for vagrant

C15: probably from Old French waucrant (from wancrer to roam, of Germanic origin), but also influenced by Old French vagant vagabond, from Latin vagārī to wander
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