peripatetic

See also: Peripatetic

English

WOTD – 18 January 2008

Alternative forms

Etymology

    From French péripatétique, from Latin peripatēticus, from Ancient Greek περιπατητικός (peripatētikós, given to walking around), from περιπατέω (peripatéō, I walk around), from περί (perí, around) (English peri-)+ πατέω (patéō, I walk).

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA(key): /ˌpɛɹ.ɪ.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/, /ˌpɛɹ.ə.pəˈtɛt.ɪk/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɛtɪk

    Adjective

    peripatetic (comparative more peripatetic, superlative most peripatetic)

    1. Tending to walk about.
    2. Constantly travelling.
      Synonyms: itinerant, nomadic
      • 2014 March 9, Elizabeth Day, “Is the LRB the best magazine in the world?”, in The Observer[1]:
        After peripatetic upbringing that took her from America to Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and England, [Mary-Kay] Wilmers read French and Russian at Oxford.
    3. (philosophy, usually capitalized) Alternative letter-case form of Peripatetic.
      • 1642, James Howell, Instructions For Foreign Travel:
        The true peripatetic school.
      • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 75:
        Demetreius of Phalerum, a peripatetic philosopher of the fourth century B.C., wrote an amatory treatise entitled Eroticus - no longer, however, extant.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Noun

    peripatetic (plural peripatetics)

    1. One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant.
      Synonyms: wayfarer, itinerant, pedestrian, nomad
    2. (philosophy, usually capitalized) Alternative letter-case form of Peripatetic (Aristotelian).
      • 1961, Albert Upton, Design for Thinking: A First Book in Semantics, section 11:
        He who would think clearly must think like a peripatetic even if he is unwilling to walk like one.

    Translations

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Romanian

    Etymology

      Borrowed from French péripatétique.

      Adjective

      peripatetic m or n (feminine singular peripatetică, masculine plural peripatetici, feminine/neuter plural peripatetice)

      1. peripatetic (clarification of this definition is needed.)

      Declension

      Declension of peripatetic
      singular plural
      masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
      nominative-
      accusative
      indefinite peripatetic peripatetică peripatetici peripatetice
      definite peripateticul peripatetica peripateticii peripateticele
      genitive-
      dative
      indefinite peripatetic peripatetice peripatetici peripatetice
      definite peripateticului peripateticei peripateticilor peripateticelor

      Further reading