itinerant

[ahy-tin-er-uhnt, ih-tin-]

adjective

1. traveling from place to place, especially on a circuit, as a minister, judge, or sales representative; itinerating; journeying.

   Synonyms: peripatetic, roving, unsettled, migratory, nomadic, wandering
   Antonyms: settled

2. characterized by such traveling.

   itinerant preaching.

3. working in one place for a comparatively short time and then moving on to work in another place, usually as a physical or outdoor laborer; characterized by alternating periods of working and wandering.

   an itinerant farm hand.

   Synonyms: peripatetic, roving, unsettled, migratory, nomadic, wandering

noun

1. a person who alternates between working and wandering.

2. a person who travels from place to place, especially for duty or business.

itinerant

/ ɪˈtɪnərənt, aɪ- /

adjective

1. itinerating

2. working for a short time in various places, esp as a casual labourer

noun

1. an itinerant worker or other person

Other Word Forms

• itinerantly adverb
• unitinerant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of itinerant¹

1560–70; < Late Latin itinerant- (stem of itinerāns ), present participle of itinerārī to journey, equivalent to itiner- (stem of iter ) journey ( iter ) + -ant- -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of itinerant¹

C16: from Late Latin itinerārī to travel, from iter a journey

Example Sentences

However, when your destination is itinerant and camouflaged by galaxies of LED lights, finding a particular art car in the dark can be a fool’s errand.

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Based on Guthrie’s 1943 autobiography and starring David Carradine as the itinerant, socially conscious musician, the movie was nominated for six Oscars, including picture, adapted screenplay and film editing.

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Hannah has earned her wisdom the hard way — by accepting her itinerant fate.

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There was an Army stint in Hawaii, some odd jobs, and then he found what he loved: the itinerant world of the traveling carnival.

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He was born in 1930 to a father who was an itinerant salesman and a mother who ran a small store.

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Related Words

• nomadic 
• peripatetic 
• roving 
• wandering