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itinerant

eye-TIN-er-uhnt /aɪˈtɪnərənt/

adjectivenounC1GRESAT

formalliterary

Traveling from place to place, especially to perform work, conduct business, or sell goods.

Implies a regular, purposeful pattern of moving from location to location as part of one's livelihood.

The story behind the word. Traced back to Latin 'iter' (genitive 'itineris'), meaning 'a journey' or 'way'. Late Latin created 'itinerare' (to travel), which gave English 'itinerant' to describe judges and tradespeople who traveled fixed circuits.

Word relationships

nomadic: Nomadic often describes tribal or wandering movement without a fixed commercial route, while itinerant usually involves work.
peripatetic: Peripatetic carries a slightly more academic or intellectual nuance of walking about.

sedentary: Sedentary means remaining in one physical place permanently.
stationary: Stationary implies fixed position without movement.

Commonly confused with

vagrant: A vagrant wanders without a job or home; an itinerant moves specifically to carry out purposeful work.

Word family

itinerary (noun): A detailed route or plan of a journey.
itinerancy (noun): The state or practice of traveling from place to place.

Collocations

itinerant vendor
itinerant worker
itinerant lifestyle

Example sentences

"Itinerant street cooks in 19th-century London sold roasted chestnuts and hot pies to passing pedestrians." Historical street food history
"The itinerant chef moved her pop-up kitchen across three different cities during the summer festival tour." Modern mobile business

Memory hook

An ITINERANT worker follows a strict ITINERARY. Itinerant = traveling worker.

When not to use

Do not use to describe someone on a single vacation journey; it implies a persistent, lifestyle pattern of business travel.

Fun facts

In medieval Europe, judges were called 'itinerant justices' because they rode on horseback between country towns to hold court.