vagabond

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvæ.ɡə.bɒnd/, /ˈvæ.ɡə.bɑnd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English vagabonde, also vacabunde,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Middle French vagabond (“wandering”),^[2][3][4][6] also Anglo-French vacabund,^[7][5] from Late Latin vagābundus (“wandering, strolling about”),^{[2][3][4][7][6]} from vagārī “to wander”, from vagus “wandering” (see vague).^{[2][3][4][7][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, wandering without a fixed home (1426 in the OED and Barnhart; c. 1400 for vacabond in Etymonline).^[8][3][4] As a noun, one who wanders from place to place, it is recorded from c. 1400, as vacabunde in 1402.^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Despite an early appearance in a criminal indictment of 1311, in Middle English a vagabond was often simply a wanderer without a settled home, not necessarily in a bad sense.^[4][5] By the mid-15th century the adjective could also mean idle or dissolute,^[4][5] and from the 17th century the notion of an idle, disreputable person without means of livelihood predominated.^[4][6][8] The verb, to roam about like a vagabond, dates from before 1586,^[8][7] and vagabondage from 1813.^[4]

Timeline

• 1311 – in a criminal indictment.^[4]
• 1402 – vacabunde.^[3]
• 1426 – adjective, wandering.^[8][3]
• before 1586 – verb, to roam.^[8][7]
• 1630 – adjective, disreputable, good-for-nothing.^[8]
• 1813 – vagabondage.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A person without a permanent home who moves from place to place.
2. A vagrant or tramp, especially one without visible means of support.
3. A wanderer or rover.

Adjective

1. Moving from place to place without a fixed home; nomadic.
2. Of or characteristic of a wanderer; leading an unsettled, irresponsible or disreputable life.
3. Aimless or irregular in course; drifting.

Verb

1. To wander or roam about in the manner of a vagabond.

Word family

• vagabondage
• vagabondism
• vagabondish

Related words

• extravagant
• vague
• vagrant
• vagary

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press