vagabond

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈvæɡəbɑnd/ UK /ˈvæɡəbɒnd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who wanders from place to place without a settled home

The old vagabond slept beneath the bridge and moved on by dawn.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who wanders from... wanderer vagrant drifter tramp nomad rover itinerant

Opposites

settler resident

Word family

Derived forms vagabondagevagabondism

Related forms vagrant vague vagary

Simplified etymology

Vagabond entered English in the Middle Ages from the family of Latin vagari, “to wander,” and vagus, “wandering.” It originally meant a person who roamed without a settled home, but later acquired the suggestion of an unprincipled or dishonest man.

Etymology

From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus ('wandering'), from Latin vagārī ('to wander'), from vagus ('roving, wandering').

vagābundus Latin vagus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# vagabond

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈvæɡəbɑnd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈvæɡəbɒnd/

## Meanings
1. a person who wanders from place to place without a settled home

## Examples
- The old vagabond slept beneath the bridge and moved on by dawn.

## Synonyms
- wanderer
- vagrant
- drifter
- tramp
- nomad
- rover
- itinerant

## Antonyms
- settler
- resident

## Derived Forms
- vagabondage
- vagabondism

## Related Forms
- vagrant
- vague
- vagary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vagābundus
- Root: vagus

## Etymology
From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus ('wandering'), from Latin vagārī ('to wander'), from vagus ('roving, wandering').

## AI Etymology
Vagabond is from Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus ('wandering'), from Latin vagārī ('to wander'), from vagus ('roving, wandering'). Important recorded forms include vagābundus (Latin) and vagus (Latin). The current sense covers a person who wanders from place to place without a settled home. The wider family includes derived forms such as vagabondage and vagabondism and related words such as vagrant, vague, and vagary.

## Topics
- People & Society

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