peripatetic
/ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/
peripatetic means tending to walk about. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.
peripatetic is pronounced /ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/.
Why “peripatetic” is a great word
Peripatetic describes moving from place to place, especially on foot or in the course of one's work, or relating to the tradition of Aristotle, who taught philosophy while strolling. From the Ancient Greek περί (perí, "around") + πατέω (patéō, "to walk"), via Latin peripatēticus and French péripatétique, it was first attested in English as a noun for an Aristotelian in the mid-15th century. Unlike "itinerant," which charts a fixed, often laborious circuit, or "nomadic," which evokes a whole community in rootless migration, "peripatetic" carries the dust of a purposeful, individual journey and the shade of ancient colonnades. It is the rhythm of a sales representative’s worn soles on regional airport carpet, the measured pacing of a lecturer thinking aloud between rows of desks, and the quiet, perpetual motion of someone who thinks best while in transit—a life where the path itself becomes the only permanent address.
Etymology
From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “to walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “to walk”).
adj
- Tending to walk about.
- Constantly travelling.“After peripatetic upbringing that took her from America to Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and England, [Mary-Kay] Wilmers read French and Russian at Oxford.”
- Of or pertaining to the philosophy or methods of Aristotle, or to his followers.
noun
- One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant.
- A disciple of Aristotle.“And though it be True indeed, that some Aristotelians have occasionally written against the Chymical Doctrine he Oppugnes, yet since they have done it according to their Principles, And since our Carneades must as well oppose their Hypothesis as that of the Spagyrist, he was fain to fight his Adverfaries with their own Weapons, Those of the Peripatetick being Improper, if not hurtfull for a Person”