Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Walking about or from place to place; traveling on foot.
- adjective Of or relating to the philosophy or teaching methods of Aristotle, who conducted discussions while walking about in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.
- noun One who walks from place to place; an itinerant.
- noun A follower of the philosophy of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Walking about; itinerant.
- [capitalized] Of or pertaining to Aristotle's system of philosophy, or the sect of his followers; Aristotelian: as, the Peripatetic philosophers.
- noun One who walks about; an itinerant; a pedestrian.
- noun [capitalized] A follower of Aristotle(384-322
b. c. ), a great Greek philosopher. In the middle ages the word was often used to signify a logician. SeeAristotelianism . - noun plural Instruction after the manner of Aristotle; instruction by lectures.
- noun plural Journeyings here and there; a continual going to and fro.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- 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.
- noun One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant.
- noun A disciple of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective tending to walk about
- adjective constantly travelling;
itinerant ;nomadic . - adjective usually capitalized Having to do with Aristotle, his philosophy, or the school of thought which he founded.
- noun One who walks about; a
pedestrian ; anitinerant . - noun usually capitalized One who accepts the philosophy of Aristotle or his school; an
Aristotelian .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who walks from place to place
- adjective of or relating to Aristotle or his philosophy
- noun a follower of Aristotle or an adherent of Aristotelianism
- adjective traveling especially on foot
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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That afternoon we were on the march in what Denham called our peripatetic hospital; but he was not happy.
Charge! A Story of Briton and Boer George Manville Fenn 1870
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Henry Parecki might best be described as a peripatetic entrepreneur.
SFGate: Top News Stories Christine Delsol 2010
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From my own experience of reading parties, I should select as their peculiar characteristics, a tendency to hats and caps of such remarkable shapes, as, if once sported in the college quadrangle, would be the subject of a common-room _instanter_; and, among some individuals (whom we may call the peripatetic philosophers of the party) a predilection for seedy shooting-coats and short pipes, with which they perambulate the neighbourhood to the marvel of the aboriginal inhabitants; while those whom we may class with the stoics, display a preference for dressing-gowns and meerschaums, and confine themselves principally to the doorways and open windows of their respective lodgings.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 334, August 1843 Various
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Brooks managed to squeeze 'peripatetic', 'equanimity', 'homeostasis', 'sojourner', 'grandiloquent' and 'didactic' into the brief 850 word article on the inner workings of Obama's mind, exposing a fragile psyche of his own, and a desperate need to validate his position as a national talking head.
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Oddly, it's insanely comfortable, and this kind of peripatetic lifestyle (while anathema to my wife) totally fits my A.D.D. quest for constant adventure.
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Oddly, it's insanely comfortable, and this kind of peripatetic lifestyle (while anathema to my wife) totally fits my A.D.D. quest for constant adventure.
openly bicoastal 2007
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For this purpose Patrick established a kind of peripatetic school.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913
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This Platonic propaganda (directed vigorously against the "peripatetic" restoration and the anti-Platonic attacks of the neo-Aristotelean school) had an echo in
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1: Aachen-Assize 1840-1916 1913
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The goal is to learn through the process of becoming a "peripatetic" institution moving from city to city in two-year increments.
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The goal is to learn through the process of becoming a "peripatetic" institution moving from city to city in two-year increments.
Prolagus commented on the word peripatetic
In Italian, this word is quite in use as a synonym for "prostitute".
June 16, 2008
aequoria commented on the word peripatetic
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.
~Devil's Dictionary
December 7, 2008
corylusavellana commented on the word peripatetic
I used to have a sworn enemy (get one, they're fun) called Perry... so peripatetic always made me giggle.
December 22, 2008
tbtabby commented on the word peripatetic
What if someone comes along and calls us "a pair o' pathetic peripatetics?"
March 17, 2009
CJ2A commented on the word peripatetic
I think there is a sense of "wandering" and "wanderlust" not necessarily related to travel on foot.
April 13, 2009
quotato commented on the word peripatetic
Modern peripatetic:
a person who surfs from webpage to webpage
May 2, 2009
seanahan commented on the word peripatetic
So I was at Buffalo Wild Wings, and we were playing the trivia game, which was called Lexitopia, where you had to pick the correct meaning of a word from 4 choices. This is a great game for Wordies, and I got every question correct, expect for the definition of this word. Now, of course, I will never forget it, but it irks me to this day.
May 2, 2009
nahiku888 commented on the word peripatetic
this is one word that never sounds like what it means - it sounds like it should mean something else.- like parrot pathetic.
June 17, 2009