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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary er·rant ETYMOLOGY Middle English erraunt, from Anglo-French errant,present participle of errer to err & errer to travel, from Late Latin iterare, from Latin iter road, journey — more at itinerant DATE 14th century 1. traveling or given to traveling an errant knight 2. a. straying outside the proper path or bounds an errant calf b. moving about aimlessly or irregularly an errant breeze c. behaving wrongly an errant child d. fallible • errant noun • er·rant·ly adverb English Etymology errant 1335, from Anglo-Fr. erraunt, from two O.Fr . words that were confused even before they reached Eng.: 1. http://O.Fr O.Fr . errant, prp. of errer "to travel or wander," from L.L. iterare, from L. iter "journey, way," from root of ire "to go" (see ion); 2. http://O.Fr O.Fr . errant, pp. of errer(see err). Much of the sense of thelatter has gone with Eng. arrant (q.v.).http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 errant er·rant / 5erEnt / adjective[only before noun] (formal or humorous) 1. doing sth that is wrong; not behaving in an acceptable way 犯错误的;行为不当的;出格的 2. (of a husband or wife 丈夫或妻子) not sexually faithful 对配偶不忠的 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition adj. Function: adjective 1 Synonyms: ERRATIC 1, devious, stray, wandering Related Words: drifting, itinerant, meandering, rambling, ranging, roaming, roving, shifting, straying Contrasted Words: static, unmoving 2 deviating from an accepted pattern or standard FF1C;a parent scolding her errant childFF1E; Synonyms: aberrant, devious, erring Related Words: deviating, straying, wandering; misbehaving, mischievous, naughty Idioms: off the straight and narrow 3 Synonyms: FALLIBLE , errable Related Words: aberrant, erring; unreliable Contrasted Words: perfect, trustworthy Antonyms: inerrant Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged er·rant I. \ˈerənt sometimes ˈər.ə- or ˈarə- or ˈə̄rə-\ adjective Etymology: Middle English erraunt, from Middle French errant, present participle of errer to travel, wander (from Medieval Latin iterare, from iter way, journey) & errer to err — more at eyre , err 1. a. : traveling or given to traveling (as on a mission of chivalry) < an errant knight > < errant those exiles … who with their burden traverse hill and dale — William Wordsworth > specifically : itinerant in an official capacity < errant officials who traveled a quarterly circuit > b. : quixotically adventurous < her temerity in such an errant undertaking — Thomas Hardy > 2. obsolete : arrant 2a < he is so errant a whig that he strains even beyond his author in his passion for liberty — Henry Cromwell > 3. a. : straying outside the proper path or bounds < in this labyrinth of tunnels the farmer found his errant pigs — American Guide Series: Minnesota > b. : moving about aimlessly or irregularly : wandering < an errant breeze > specifically : having an irregular course — used formerly in astronomy to distinguish a planet from a star < seven … errant stars in the lower orbs of heaven — Sir Thomas Browne > c. : deviating from a standard (as of behavior) : erring < a parent scolding an errant child > d. : liable or inclined to error : fallible < his instincts being basically sound but like those of all natural men somewhat errant — Gilbert Millstein > 4. : of or relating to the Errantia • er·rant·ly adverb II. noun (-s) : one that is errant < separates the one-time errant from the long-term philanderer — Time > specifically : knight-errant |
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