itinerant

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin itinerāns (“travelling”),^[2][3][4][5] the present participle of itineror (“to travel”), in Medieval Latin also itinerō,^[2][3][6] from Latin iter (“journey, road”),^[2][3][7] from eō (“to go”),^[5][4][6][8] from Proto-Indo-European *ei- (“to go”).^[5][3] The participle is recorded in Anglo-Latin from the late 13th century.^[5] Johnson gave its source as French.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the Justices in Eyre and other judges and their courts, travelling on circuit: 1576, in W. Lambarde's Perambulation of Kent.^[2][10][7] Etymonline dates the adjective to the 1560s,^[5] and Barnhart to 1570–76.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a legal term for courts that moved round a circuit.^[5][7][10] It was used figuratively by 1634, in T. Herbert's account of his travels,^[2] and as a noun, for anyone who travels from place to place, by 1641.^[2][4] From 1661, in Cowley, it described journeying for the sake of a trade or calling,^[2] and also preachers on a circuit, including Wesleyan ministers;^[2][10] the related verb itinerate had the special sense of travelling about to preach from 1775.^[5] Johnson (1755) gave only the general sense "wandering; not settled", with Addison's "itinerant tradesmen" as his example.^[9] Collins now singles out people who work for short periods in many places, especially casual labourers.^[11] Before this word, Middle English had itineral (“having to do with travel”), from the late 15th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 1576 – of judges and their courts, travelling on circuit.^[2][12] Etymonline dates the adjective to the 1560s.^[5]
• 1634 – used figuratively.^[2]
• 1641 – noun, a person who travels from place to place, especially in a trade or calling.^[2][4]
• 1661 – journeying in connection with one's work; preaching on a circuit.^[2][10]
• 1690 – movable from place to place.^[2][10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Travelling from place to place, especially to do one's work: an itinerant knife grinder.^[12][3][2]
2. Travelling a regular circuit, as a judge or preacher does.^[12][10][2]
3. Marked by constant travel, or done in the course of it: an itinerant childhood.^[12]
4. Working for short periods in various places, especially as a casual labourer.^[11]
5. Movable from place to place.^[2][10]

Noun

1. A person who travels from place to place, especially for work, such as a preacher or actor.^{[12][3][10][2]}

Word family

• itinerantly
• itinerancy

Related words

• itinerary
• itinerate
• iter
• exit

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster