1. Roving, especially in search of adventure: knights errant.
2. Straying from the proper course or standards: errant youngsters.
3. 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) and partly from Old French errer, to err; see err.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.