peripatetic
/ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/ adjective, noun
Forms peripatetics peripatetick
- adjective Tending to walk about.
- adjective Constantly travelling.
- noun One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant.
- noun (historical) A disciple of Aristotle.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the philosophy or methods of Aristotle, or to his followers.
Synonyms
itinerant nomadic wayfarer pedestrian nomad Aristotelian Aristotelean Aristotelic wayfaring
Etymology
From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, “given to walking around”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “to walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, “to walk”).
From Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περίπατος (perípatos, “strolling, covered walk, conversation while walking”), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, “to walk around”), from περί (perí, “around”) + πατέω (patéō, “to walk”). Aristotle’s school was sometimes called the περιπατητικοί (peripatētikoí) "those who are prone to walking" or οἱ ἐκ τοῦ περιπάτου (hoi ek toû peripátou, “those from the walk”) in reference either to his supposed habit of teaching while traversing the περίπατοι (perípatoi, “walkways”) of the Lyceum or simply to the walkways themselves with which the school became associated.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Walking about; itinerant.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the philosophy taught by Aristotle (who gave his instructions while walking in the Lyceum at Athens), or to his followers. "The true peripatetic school." Howell.
- noun One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant. Tatler.
- noun A disciple of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.
Etymology [L. peripateticus, Gr. péripatétique.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “peripatetic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details