VAGRANT


Meaning of VAGRANT in English

— vagrantly , adv. — vagrantness , n.

/vay"greuhnt/ , n.

1. a person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.

2. Law. an idle person without visible means of support, as a tramp or beggar.

3. a person who wanders from place to place; wanderer; rover.

4. wandering idly without a permanent home or employment; living in vagabondage: vagrant beggars.

5. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a vagrant: the vagrant life.

adj.

6. wandering or roaming from place to place; nomadic.

7. (of plants) straggling in growth.

8. not fixed or settled, esp. in course; moving hither and thither: a vagrant leaf blown by the wind.

[ 1400-50; late ME vagaraunt, appar. prp. of AF * vagrer, perh. vagren, b. vagen ( vagari to wander) and * walcren ( > OF wa ( u ) crer ), equiv. to walc- (see WALK) + -r- freq. suffix + -en inf. suffix ]

Syn. 1. VAGRANT, VAGABOND describe an idle, disreputable person who lacks a fixed abode. VAGRANT suggests a tramp, a person with no settled abode or livelihood, an idle and disorderly person: picked up by police as a vagrant. VAGABOND especially emphasizes the idea of worthless living, often by trickery, thieving, or other disreputable means: Actors were once classed with rogues and vagabonds.

Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary.      Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House .