pedestrian

B2 Topic:People & Society

US /pəˈdɛstɹiən/ See IPA manual

Freq #18384

Meanings

1

noun
A person who is walking, especially in a street or area where there are vehicles.

The driver slowed down to let a pedestrian cross the road.
2

adj
Ordinary and dull; lacking imagination.

The film had a pedestrian plot that surprised no one.
3

adj
Intended for or used by people who are walking.

They built a pedestrian crossing outside the school.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who is walking,... walker

2 adj · ordinary and dull; lacking... prosaic average common

Word family

Forms pedestrians

Derived forms nonpedestrianpedestrianatepedestrianesspedestrianisepedestrianismpedestrianizationpedestrianizepedestrianlypedestriannesspedlockpedwaypetextrian

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pedestrian traffic
the movement of people walking through an area

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Pedestrian, recorded from the mid-17th century, derives ultimately from Latin pes, ped-, “foot.” It shares this root with pedal, pedestal, and the word for the pawn in chess.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pedester, root pedestri- (from pedes) + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

*ped- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# pedestrian

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /pəˈdɛstɹiən/
**Frequency rank:** 18384

## Meanings
1. A person who is walking, especially in a street or area where there are vehicles.
2. Ordinary and dull; lacking imagination.
3. Intended for or used by people who are walking.

## Examples
- The driver slowed down to let a pedestrian cross the road.
- The film had a pedestrian plot that surprised no one.
- They built a pedestrian crossing outside the school.

## Derived Forms
- nonpedestrian
- pedestrianate
- pedestrianess
- pedestrianise
- pedestrianism
- pedestrianization
- pedestrianize
- pedestrianly
- pedestrianness
- pedlock
- pedway
- petextrian

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ped-

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin pedester, root pedestri- (from pedes) + -an (suffix forming adjectives).

## AI Etymology
Pedestrian was borrowed from Latin pedester, root pedestri- (from pedes) + -an (suffix forming adjectives). Modern senses include a person who is walking, especially in a street or area where there are vehicles and ordinary and dull; lacking imagination. The wider word family includes derivatives such as nonpedestrian, pedestrianate, pedestrianess, pedestrianise, pedestrianism, and pedestrianization.

## Topics
- People & Society

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