7 results for: Errant Browse Nearby Entries
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
er·rant    Audio Help   [er-uhnt] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.deviating from the regular or proper course; erring; straying.
2.journeying or traveling, as a medieval knight in quest of adventure; roving adventurously.
3.moving in an aimless or lightly changing manner: an errant breeze.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME erraunt < MF, OF errant, prp. of errer, edrer to travel < VL *iterāre to journey, for LL itinerārī, deriv. of iter, s. itiner- journey (see itinerary); confused with MF errant, prp. of errer to err]

er·rant·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Errant

To learn more about Errant visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
er·rant    Audio Help   (ěr'ənt)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Roving, especially in search of adventure: knights errant.
  2. Straying from the proper course or standards: errant youngsters.
    1. Wandering outside the established limits: errant lambs.
    2. Aimless or irregular in motion: an errant afternoon breeze.


[Middle English erraunt, from Anglo-Norman, partly from Old French errer, to travel about (from Vulgar Latin *iterāre, from Latin iter, journey; see ei- in Indo-European roots) and partly from Old French errer, to err; see err.]

er'rant n., er'rant·ly adv.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
errant 
1335, from Anglo-Fr. erraunt, from two O.Fr. words that were confused even before they reached Eng.: 1. O.Fr. errant, prp. of errer "to travel or wander," from L.L. iterare, from L. iter "journey, way," from root of ire "to go" (see ion); 2. O.Fr. errant, pp. of errer (see err). Much of the sense of the latter has gone with Eng. arrant (q.v.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
errant

adjective
1. straying from the right course or from accepted standards; "errant youngsters" 
2. uncontrolled motion that is irregular or unpredictable; "an errant breeze" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Errant

Ar"rant\, a. [OE. erraunt, errant, errand, equiv. to E. errant wandering, which was first applied to vagabonds, as an errant rogue, an errant thief, and hence passed gradually into its present and worse sense. See Errant.] Notoriously or pre["e]minently bad; thorough or downright, in a bad sense; shameless; unmitigated; as, an arrant rogue or coward.

I discover an arrant laziness in my soul. --Fuller.

2. Thorough or downright, in a good sense. [Obs.]

An arrant honest woman. --Burton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Errant

Er"rant\, a. [F. errant, p. pr. fr. OF. errer to travel, LL. iterare, fr. L. iter journey; confused somewhat with L. errare to err. See Eyre, and cf. Arrant, Itinerant.]

1. Wandering; deviating from an appointed course, or from a direct path; roving.

Seven planets or errant stars in the lower orbs of heaven. --Sir T. Browne.

2. Notorious; notoriously bad; downright; arrant.

Would make me an errant fool. --B. Jonson.

3. (Eng. Law) Journeying; itinerant; -- formerly applied to judges who went on circuit and to bailiffs at large. --Mozley & W.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

errant

errant was Word of the Day on February 27, 2001.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day
Browse Nearby Entries:

err
err on the side of
erra
errability
errable
errableness
errabund
errancies
errancies'
errancy
errancy's
errand
errand boy
errand's
errands
errands'
errant
errantia
errantly
errantries
errantries'
errantry
errantry's
errare humanum est
errata
errata's
erratic
erratical
erratically
erraticism
erration
erratum
erratum's

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web

Share This:   Share This: del.icio.usShare This: digg.comShare This: FacebookShare This: furl.netShare This: www.netscape.comShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: www.google.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: blinklist.comShare This: newsvine.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: reddit.comShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: tailrank.com

Perform a new search, or try your search for "Errant" at: