noun / adjective
vagabond
VAG-uh-bahnd/ˈvæɡəbɑːnd/
A person who wanders without a settled home, or that way of life.
A vagabond walks along a country road carrying a small, worn backpack.
Etymology
The pieces describe someone characterized by wandering. Applied to a person, this meant someone moving from place to place without a settled home, not necessarily with the disapproval the word later acquired.
In context
with cinders; the house was sold; the mother dived down into the long church-yard grass; her children twice followed her thither; and the houseless, familyless old man staggered off a vagabond in crape;
More examples
- The vagabond never stays in one town for long.
- She grows tired of her vagabond life and finds a permanent home.
- The novel follows two vagabonds who wander from town to town.
Forms
vagabond · vagabonds
Similar words
- wanderer
- Emphasizes roaming without necessarily implying the lack of a home.
- drifter
- Suggests moving between places or jobs without a clear purpose.