Word of the Day Archive
Tuesday February 27, 2001
errant \AIR-uhnt\ , adjective:
1. Wandering; roving, especially in search of adventure.
2. Deviating from an appointed course; straying.
3. Straying from the proper standards (as of truth or propriety).
4. Moving aimlessly or irregularly; as, an errant breeze.
The year 1565 finds him at Ferrara, the city where our errant poet will spend the most stable years of his life.
-- Anthony M. Esolen, introduction to Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso
They called him, "Hey, mister!" and asked him to throw their errant baseballs back to them.
-- Judith McNaught, Night Whispers
Conformity was the rule, and one young mother, imploring Peabody not to expel her errant son because he was a "very unusual" boy, heard the stony response: "Groton, madam, is no place for the unusual boy."
-- Benjamin Welles, Sumner Welles: FDR's Global Strategist
Not anymore, she says, putting her bag between her feet and moving errant hairs out of her face.
-- Joseph Clark, Jungle Wedding
Errant comes from Middle French errer, "to travel," from Late Latin iterare, from Latin iter, "a journey"; confused somewhat with Latin errare, "to wander; to err."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for errant
