Nearby Words

peripatetic

[per-uh-puh-tet-ik] Example Sentences Origin

per·i·pa·tet·ic

[per-uh-puh-tet-ik]
adjective
1.
walking or traveling about; itinerant.
2.
(initial capital letter) of or pertaining to Aristotle, who taught philosophy while walking in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.
3.
(initial capital letter) of or pertaining to the Aristotelian school of philosophy.
noun
4.
a person who walks or travels about.
5.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.

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Peripatetic is a GRE word you need to know.
So is premature. Does it mean:
the nature of a precursor
occurring, coming, or done too soon

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin peripatēticus < Greek peripatētikós of Aristotle and his school, literally, walking about, equivalent to peripatē- (verbid stem of peripateîn to walk about, equivalent to peri- peri- + pateîn to walk; akin to path) + -tikos -tic

per·i·pa·tet·i·cal·ly, adverb
per·i·pa·tet·i·cism [per-uh-puh-tet-uh-siz-uhm] , noun


1. wandering, roving; vagrant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To peripatetic
Example Sentences
  • We were doing a reading on peripatetic philosophy.
  • No longer was English speech the limited possession of the educated, the wealthy and the peripatetic social elite.
  • This partly reflected his own restless, peripatetic imagination.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
peripatetic (ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk)
 
adj
1.  itinerant
2.  (Brit) employed in two or more educational establishments and travelling from one to another: a peripatetic football coach
 
n
3.  a peripatetic person
 
[C16: from Latin peripatēticus, from Greek peripatētikos, from peripatein to pace to and fro]
 
peripa'tetically
 
adv

Peripatetic (ˌpɛrɪpəˈtɛtɪk)
 
adj
1.  of or relating to the teachings of Aristotle, who used to teach philosophy while walking about the Lyceum in ancient Athens
 
n
2.  a student of Aristotelianism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

peripatetic
c.1400, n., "disciple of Aristotle," from O.Fr. perypatetique (14c.), from L. peripateticus "pertaining to the disciples or philosophy of Aristotle," from Gk. peripatetikos "given to walking about" (especially while teaching), from peripatein, from peri- "around" + patein "to walk." Aristotle's custom
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was to teach while strolling through the Lyceum in Athens. In Eng., the philosophical meaning is older than that of "person who wanders about" (1617). As an adj., attested in Eng. 1566 in the philosophical sense, 1642 in the lit. sense.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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