vagrant
vagrant Lexical Profile
vagrant Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person without a settled home or regular work who wanders from place to place and lives by begging or casual labor.
"Historical municipal laws often penalized vagrants rather than providing shelter for the destitute."
In ecology and ornithology, an individual animal (especially a migratory bird) that appears well outside its normal geographic range or seasonal habitat.
"Local birdwatchers gathered at the coastal marsh to photograph a rare Siberian vagrant blown off course by the storm."
• adjective
Wandering from place to place without a settled home, regular employment, or fixed destination.
"During the Great Depression, thousands of displaced farmworkers were forced into a vagrant lifestyle in search of seasonal labor."
Moving, blowing, or drifting about in an irregular, unpredictable, or aimless manner (often used of thoughts, breezes, or plant growth).
"A vagrant breeze rustled the dry autumn leaves across the empty courtyard."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to people, 'vagrant' is primarily a dated legal term or carries a negative, pejorative connotation; in contemporary contexts, neutral phrases like 'unhoused person' or 'nomad' are preferred.
• Rhymes for vagrant
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 15th century from Anglo-French vagraunt, an alteration (influenced by Latin vagari 'to wander') of Old French walcrant, the present participle of walcrer ('to wander or roam'), which is of Germanic origin.