entry
pilgrim
/ˈpɪlɡrɪm/A traveler to a sacred place
From Latin per- (through) + Latin agri (field).
from Latin peregrīnus (“foreigner”). Doublet of peregrine. The change of /r…r/ to /l…r/ is an effect of dissimilation...
from Late Latin pelegrinus, a dissimilation of Latin peregrinus "foreigner, stranger, foreign resident" (source of...
from Old English pilegrī̆m
from Middle English pilegrim
Word Ancestry
from Latin peregrīnus (“foreigner”). Doublet of peregrine. The change of /r…r/ to /l…r/ is an effect of dissimilation...
from Late Latin pelegrinus, a dissimilation of Latin peregrinus "foreigner, stranger, foreign resident" (source of...
from Old English pilegrī̆m
from Middle English pilegrim
Before a pilgrim was a pious traveler, the word described someone simply from somewhere else: a foreigner, a stranger, a person standing outside the familiar map. Latin built that idea from per, “beyond,” and ager, “land,” producing peregrīnus—roughly, someone from beyond the fields. Medieval French softened the awkward repeated r sounds, turning peregrinus into pelegrin or pelerin, and English inherited pilegrim around 1200; the final spelling eventually settled into pilgrim. The same family also gave English peregrine, while a palm-bearing traveler returning from the Holy Land could be called a palmer. In 1620, the English Separatists who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower adopted “Pilgrims” as a biblical self-description, helping transform an old word for an outsider into a famous name for settlers—and reminding us that every pilgrim begins as someone who has crossed beyond familiar ground.
The Story
Before a pilgrim was a pious traveler, the word described someone simply from somewhere else: a foreigner, a stranger, a person standing outside the familiar map. Latin built that idea from per, “beyond,” and ager, “land,” producing peregrīnus—roughly, someone from beyond the fields. Medieval French softened the awkward repeated r sounds, turning peregrinus into pelegrin or pelerin, and English inherited pilegrim around 1200; the final spelling eventually settled into pilgrim. The same family also gave English peregrine, while a palm-bearing traveler returning from the Holy Land could be called a palmer. In 1620, the English Separatists who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower adopted “Pilgrims” as a biblical self-description, helping transform an old word for an outsider into a famous name for settlers—and reminding us that every pilgrim begins as someone who has crossed beyond familiar ground.
Modern Usage
A clueless newcomer or inexperienced outsider
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry describing an inexperienced person who looks newly arrived
- U.S. Western usage for a newcomer or tenderfoot
Kin & Kindred
From 'per-'·through, beyond, from one side to another
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'agri'·field, land, country
Derived Terms
English words from this root