truant

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a pupil who stays away from school without permission

   The teacher found the truant fishing by the river during lessons.

2. 2
   noun

   a person who neglects or shirks a duty

   After missing three rehearsals, the director called him a truant from the company.

3. 3
   adj

   absent without permission or wandering away from an expected duty

   The truant student returned to class before lunch.

Simplified etymology

Truant came from Old French and is probably ultimately Celtic, related to Welsh truan and Scottish Gaelic truaghan, meaning “wretched.” In the 13th century it denoted someone who begged by choice; the associated idea of voluntary idleness later produced the sense of a child absent from school without permission.

From Middle English truant, through Old French truand, 'beggar, vagabond, or rogue,' probably from a Celtic source. The word moved from a wandering or idle person to one who shirked duties and then specifically to a pupil absent from school without leave.

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External links

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