vagabond means floating about without any certain direction; driven to and fro. It carries an Arena rating of 1640, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vagabond ranks #851 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,256 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,374 of 14,451 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,517 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say.
vagabond is pronounced /ˈvæ.ɡə.bɒnd/.
Why “vagabond” is a great word
A person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home, regular work, or apparent means of honest livelihood. From Old French *vagabond*, from Late Latin *vagābundus*, from Latin *vagārī* ("to wander"), first attested in English c. 1400. Unlike a “nomad,” who moves within a sanctioned pattern of tradition, or a “tourist,” who travels from a fixed point of comfort, the vagabond is defined by a rootless, suspect freedom. It is the silhouette against a twilight hedge, the weathered pack, the faint, indelible scent of woodsmoke on a coat—the condition of being perpetually unmoored, a living question mark posed to a world that demands rootedness.
Etymology
From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus, from Latin vagari (“wander”). Compare moribund.
Etymology tree
Old French vagabondder.
English vagabond
adj
- Floating about without any certain direction; driven to and fro.“To heaven their prayers / Flew up, nor missed the way, by envious winds / Blown vagabond or frustrate.”
noun
- A person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time.
- One who usually wanders from place to place, having no fixed dwelling, or not abiding in it, and usually without the means of honest livelihood.“Foꝛ when thou tylleſt the grounde ſhe ſhall hẽcefoꝛth not geve hyꝛ power vnto the. A vagabunde and a rennagate ſhalt thou be vpon the erth.”
verb
- To roam, as a vagabond
Words closest in meaning
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