vagrant Hear it!

vagrant definition

va·grant (grənt)

noun

  1. a person who wanders from place to place or lives a wandering life; rover
  2. one who wanders from place to place without a regular job, supporting oneself by begging, etc.; idle wanderer; vagabond
  3. Law a tramp, beggar, prostitute, or similar idle or disorderly persons whose way of living makes them liable to arrest and detention

Etymology: ME vagraunt, prob. < Anglo-Fr wacrant, walcrant < OFr walcrer, to wander < Frank *walken (see walk): infl. prob. by L vagari, to wander

adjective

  1. wandering from place to place or living a wandering life; roaming; nomadic
  2. living the life of a vagabond or tramp
  3. of or characteristic of a vagrant
  4. characterized by straggling growth: said of plants
  5. following no fixed direction, course, or pattern; random, wayward, fleeting, erratic, etc.

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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