pilgrim

[ pil-grim, -gruhm ]

noun

1. a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion:

   pilgrims to the Holy Land.

2. a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.
3. an original settler in a region.
4. (initial capital letter) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.
5. a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.

pilgrim

¹

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. a person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion
2. any wayfarer

Pilgrim

²

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪm /

noun

1. See Canterbury Pilgrims

Other Words From

• pilgri·matic pilgri·mati·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pilgrim¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pelegrim, pilegrim, cognate with Old Frisian pilegrīm, Middle Low German pelegrīm, Old High German piligrīm, Old Norse pīlagrīmr, all from Medieval Latin pelegrīnus, dissimilated variant of Latin peregrīnus peregrine

Word History and Origins

Origin of pilgrim¹

C12: from Provençal pelegrin, from Latin peregrīnus foreign, from per through + ager field, land; see peregrine

Related Words

• settler
• traveler