a legendary character condemned to roam without rest because he struck Christ on the day of the Crucifixion.
Also called inch plant. Also wandering Jew, Wandering-jew any of various trailing or creeping plants, as Zebrina pendula or Tradescantia fluminensis, having green or variegated leaves: a popular houseplant.
any of several related creeping or trailing plants of tropical America, esp Tradescantia fluminensis and Zebrina pendula: family Commelinaceae
a similar creeping plant of the genus Commelina
First recorded in 1625–35
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This led Schudt to conclude that the story of the Wandering Jew was no more than a fairy tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
But when we encounter this man in folklore, he’s known by another, more familiar name: the Wandering Jew.
From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2022
While Rohmer’s stories occasionally hint that Moris Klaw could be the Wandering Jew, Simon Ark actually appears to be centuries-old, a former Coptic priest who travels the world combating satanic evil.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2020
"The days of the Wandering Jew are at an end," Bergman tells Craig.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 21, 2013
The third volume of the Wandering Jew contains the real history of Mademoiselle B. All this happened very lately, not in a mad-house, but in a convent.
From Priests, Women, and Families by Michelet, Jules
The biographical details may come from the author’s grandfather, but the character seems decidedly larger-than-life, a cross between Bruce Wayne, a Japanese ronin and an archetypal wandering Jew.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
When I’ve had the opportunity, as a wandering Jew, to visit the houses of worship of friends, I’ve never felt much in danger of conversion.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Traversing Central and Eastern Europe, New York, California, the Southwestern U. S., Buenos Aires, and Haiti, Reines resembles a cosmic outlaw, a modern-day wandering Jew, whose errancy and alienation disrupts illusions of order.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 23, 2019
It was the Friday during Passover, and like any wandering Jew, I wanted a Sabbath meal.
From New York Times ● May 22, 2010
The wandering Jew, Benjamin, one of the greatest travellers in the East, gives an interesting account of solar worship in early times.
From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by Grant, James, archaeologist
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
