pilgrim English · revision 1653

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɪlɡɹɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It comes from Middle English ''pilegrim'', ''pelegrim'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) [[der|fro|peligrin]], ''pelerin'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|la-lat|pelegrinus]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a dissimilated form of [[la|peregrinus|t=foreigner, stranger]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''peregrē'' “from abroad”, from ''per-'' “beyond” and ''ager'' “field, country”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The final ''-m'' appears to be a Germanic modification.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[peregrine]].^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A traveller or wayfarer, and a person who journeys to a holy place as an act of devotion (c. 1200).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense of a traveller or wanderer is now poetic or rhetorical,^(OED 1989) while the religious sense has remained the main one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The English Puritans who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620 sometimes called themselves pilgrims from about 1630, after Hebrews 11:13;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) the phrase ''Pilgrim Fathers'' is attested by 1799.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) In the American West the word meant an original settler (1841) and later a newcomer or tenderfoot.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a traveller; a pilgrim to a holy place.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * about 1275 – ''pilgrimage''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1561 – verb, to go on pilgrimage.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1630 – the Plymouth colonists.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1799 – ''Pilgrim Fathers''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – an original settler; a newcomer.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A religious [[devotee]] who journeys to a [[shrine]] or holy place.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who sets out on a [[quest]] for something thought of as sacred.^(AHD)

+ # A traveller or [[wayfarer]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(capitalized)'' One of the English [[Separatist|alt=Separatists]] who founded [[Plymouth Colony]] in New England in 1620.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A newcomer to a region, especially the American West.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pilgrimage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[peregrine]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}