noun / adjective
vagrant
VAY-grunt/ˈveɪɡrənt/
Wandering without a settled home or course.
The novel follows a vagrant who wanders from town to town.
Etymology
The probable Anglo-French ancestor referred to a wanderer, connecting movement from place to place with lacking a settled home or livelihood. Its deeper origin is disputed between Germanic and Latin explanations.
In context
the Workman thinking to lighten his own labor was urging that the vagrant be employed for no other pay than food and lodging
More examples
- The shelter offers the vagrant a hot meal and a bed.
- A vagrant dog roams the neighborhood in search of food.
- Her vagrant thoughts drift back to the unfinished letter.
Forms
vagrant · vagrants
vagrancy noun — The condition of wandering without a settled home.
Similar words
- wanderer
- Emphasizes traveling from place to place, not lacking a home.
- drifter
- Suggests aimlessness in work or life, not just wandering.