itinerant

adjective

itin·​er·​ant ī-ˈti-nə-rənt 

: traveling from place to place

especially : covering a circuit

itinerant preacher

itinerant noun

itinerantly adverb

Did you know?

In Latin, iter means "way" or "journey." That root was the parent of the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning "to journey." It was that verb which ultimately gave rise to the English word for traveling types: itinerant. The linguistic grandparent, iter, also contributed to the development of other English words, including itinerary ("the route of a journey" and "the plan made for a journey") and errant ("traveling or given to traveling," as in knight-errant).

Synonyms

• ambulant
• ambulatory
• errant
• fugitive
• gallivanting
• galavanting
• nomad
• nomadic
• perambulatory
• peregrine
• peripatetic
• ranging
• roaming
• roving
• vagabond
• vagrant
• wandering
• wayfaring

Examples of itinerant in a Sentence

an itinerant musician can see a lot of the world

Recent Examples on the Web

From these men, along with the itinerant Apostle Paul, Christianity spread throughout the globe. —Lauren Green, Fox News, 16 Feb. 2025

In The Life with Zac Posen Abdelhamid is at an itinerant point in his life. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 14 Feb. 2025

This time, the reports of itinerant ibises came from as far away as Hungary and St. Petersburg. —Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

If the resolution is approved Friday evening, cut positions would include teachers, counselors, instructional coaches, curriculum specialists, itinerant teachers, special assignment teachers, social workers, home hospital workers and social workers. —Alexcia Negrete, Orange County Register, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin itinerant-, itinerans, present participle of itinerari to journey, from Latin itiner-, iter journey, way; akin to Hittite itar way, Latin ire to go — more at issue entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1576, in the meaning defined above

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

itinerant

adjective

itin·​er·​ant ī-ˈtin-ə-rənt 

ə-ˈtin-

: traveling from place to place

an itinerant preacher