I. ˈerənt sometimes ˈər.ə- or ˈarə- or ˈə̄rə- adjective
Etymology: Middle English erraunt, from Middle French errant, present participle of errer to travel, wander (from Medieval Latin iterare, from iter way, journey) & errer to err — more at eyre , err
1.
a. : traveling or given to traveling (as on a mission of chivalry)
an errant knight
errant those exiles … who with their burden traverse hill and dale — William Wordsworth
specifically : itinerant in an official capacity
errant officials who traveled a quarterly circuit
b. : quixotically adventurous
her temerity in such an errant undertaking — Thomas Hardy
2. obsolete : arrant 2a
he is so errant a whig that he strains even beyond his author in his passion for liberty — Henry Cromwell
3.
a. : straying outside the proper path or bounds
in this labyrinth of tunnels the farmer found his errant pigs — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : moving about aimlessly or irregularly : wandering
an errant breeze
specifically : having an irregular course — used formerly in astronomy to distinguish a planet from a star
seven … errant stars in the lower orbs of heaven — Sir Thomas Browne
c. : deviating from a standard (as of behavior) : erring
a parent scolding an errant child
d. : liable or inclined to error : fallible
his instincts being basically sound but like those of all natural men somewhat errant — Gilbert Millstein
4. : of or relating to the Errantia
• er·rant·ly adverb
II. noun
( -s )
: one that is errant
separates the one-time errant from the long-term philanderer — Time
specifically : knight-errant