peripatetic

adj.

1. Walking about or from place to place; traveling on foot.
2. Peripatetic Of or relating to the philosophy or teaching methods of Aristotle, who conducted discussions while walking about in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.

n.

1. One who walks from place to place; an itinerant.
2. Peripatetic A follower of the philosophy of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.

[Middle English peripatetik, from Latin peripatēticus, from Greek peripatētikos, from peripatein, to walk about, or from peripatos, covered walk (where Aristotle allegedly lectured) : peri-, peri- + patein, to walk.]

(per-uh-puh-TET-ik)

adjective
1. Moving or traveling from place to place.
2. Of or related to walking, moving, or traveling.
3. Of or related to Aristotle: his philosophy or his teaching method of conducting discussions while walking about.

noun
1. An itinerant
2. A follower of Aristotle.

Etymology
From Latin peripateticus, from Greek peripatetikos, from peripatein (to walk about, to discourse while pacing as did Aristotle), from peri- (around) + patein (to walk). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pent- (to tread) that also gave us words such as English find, Dutch pad (path), Hindi path (path), French pont (bridge), and Russian sputnik (traveling companion)

Usage
"With his back to goal in a crowded space, the peripatetic Frenchman [Nicolas Anelka] deftly chipped the ball over his shoulder, and into the net for the equalizer." — Rob Hughes; Michel Platini Set to Make Plea to Cut Influence of Money in UEFA; International Herald Tribune (Paris, France); Feb 15, 2009.

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The New York Times described Microsoft cofounder and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul G. Allen as a person with many and varied interests who is now focusing on his native Seattle:

"For years, Paul G. Allen was the invisible billionaire here, a tentative tycoon with a yacht longer than the football field where his Seattle Seahawks will play Sunday. But just as the Seahawks have shed years of obscurity in their first shot at the Super Bowl in more than two decades, Mr. Allen's prints appear everywhere as he remakes his hometown into an urban center to match his peripatetic passions."

Link: Seahawks Rise, as Does Seattle, in Hometown Tycoon's Vision

Posted January 22, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

Leading the life of a person without a fixed domicile; moving from place to place: itinerant, nomadic, vagabond, vagrant. See move/halt.

adj

Definition: constantly traveling
Antonyms: fixed, settled

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walking about from place to place, pedestrian, itinerant

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

adj.

Walking about. Relating to the philosophy of Aristotle, who, while expounding it, moved from place to place in order to avoid his pupil's objections. A needless precaution -- they knew no more of the matter than he.

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IN BRIEF: Wandering. Also: Pacing.

In retirement, the couple bought a trailer and enjoyed a peripatetic lifestyle.

Common misspelling(s) of peripatetic

• peripathetic

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - peripatetisk, omvandrende
n. - peripatetiker, omvandrende sælger

Nederlands (Dutch)
rondreizend, op meerdere scholen werkzaam, betreffende filosofie van Aristoteles, leraar die op meerdere scholen werkt, zwerver, (mv) rondzwervingen

Français (French)
adj. - itinérant, affecté à plusieurs établissements scolaires (un professeur)
n. - (Philos) péripatéticien

Deutsch (German)
adj. - durch Lehrer, die an mehreren Schulen unterrichten
n. - Lehrer, der an mehreren Schulen unterrichtet

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - περιπατητικός
n. - περιπατητικός φιλόσοφος

Italiano (Italian)
peripatetico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - peripatético
n. - peripatético (m)

Русский (Russian)
перипатетический, перипатетик, странствующий, внештатный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - peripatético, ambulante
n. - peripatético

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - peripatetisk (fil.), kringvandrande (skämts.), ambulerande
n. - peripatetiker (fil.), vandringsman, nasare

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
逍遥学派的, 走来走去的, 走来走去的人, 逍遥学派的弟子, 行商

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 逍遙學派的, 走來走去的
n. - 走來走去的人, 逍遙學派的弟子, 行商

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 소요 학파의, 걸어 돌아다니는, 순회의
n. - 걸어 돌아다니는 사람, 행상인, 도붓장수

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 歩き回る, 巡回する
n. - 行商人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مشائي : مذهب (الاسم) من أتباع أرسطو : الذي كان يعلم وهو يتمشى في الرواق بأثينا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮נודד, משוטט, עובד בכמה בתי-ספר (מורה), מתהלך‬
n. - ‮נווד, עובר-אורח‬

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