peregrination

From Late Middle English peregrinacioun, peregrinacion (“journey; pilgrimage; (figuratively) human journey through life”),^[1] from Anglo-Norman peregrinaciun (“human journey through life”), peregrination (“pilgrimage; overseas travel”), and Old French peregrinacion, peregrination (“pilgrimage; overseas travel”) (modern French pérégrination), and from their etymon Latin peregrīnātiō (“overseas sojourn or travel; (Late Latin) pilgrimage; sojourn; human journey through life”), from peregrīnātus (“living or travelling overseas”) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns).^[2] Peregrīnātus is the perfect passive participle of peregrīnor (“to live or travel overseas; to be overseas; to roam, rove; to be a stranger”), from peregrīnus (“alien, foreign; exotic”) (from peregrē̆ (“abroad; from abroad; heading abroad”) + -īnus (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘of or pertaining to’)) + -or (suffix forming first-person singular present passive indicative verbs).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌpɛɹɪɡɹɪˈneɪʃn̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌpɛɹəɡɹəˈneɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˈpɛ-/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: pe‧re‧gri‧nat‧ion

peregrination (countable and uncountable, plural peregrinations)

1. (countable, chiefly theology, archaic) A person's life regarded as a temporary stay on earth and a journey to the afterlife.
   • 1618 April 22, John Donne, “A Sermon Preached at White-hall Aprill 12. 1618.”, in XXVI. Sermons (Never before Publish’d) Preached by that Learned and Reverend Divine John Donne, , London: Thomas Newcomb, , published 1661, →OCLC, page 179:

     It is true our life in this world is not called a baniſhment any where in the Scripture: but a pilgrimage, a peregrination, a travell; but perigrinatio cum ignominia conjunctu, exilium; he that leaves his Countrey becauſe he was aſhamed, or afraid to return to it, or to ſtay in it, is a baniſhed man.

2. (by extension)
   1. (countable, archaic) A journey made by a pilgrim; a pilgrimage; also (uncountable) the making of pilgrimages.
      • 1760, Edmund Burke, “An Essay towards an Abridgment of the English History. ”, in [Walker King], editor, The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, new edition, volume X, London: for C and J Rivington, , published 1826, →OCLC, book IIbook II, chapter V (Succession of Kings from Alfred to Harold), page 309:

        According to the mode of that time, he [Cnut the Great] made a pilgrimage to Rome, with a view to expiate the crimes, which paved his way to the throne; but he made a good use of this peregrination, and returned full of the observations he had made in the country, through which he had passed, which he turned to the benefit of his extensive dominions.

   2. (countable) A journey or trip, especially by foot; also (uncountable) journeying, travelling.
      • 1670, John Evelyn, “. Chapter XXV. Of the Cork, Ilex, Alaternus, Phyllyrea, Granad, Lentise, Myrtle, Jasmine, &c..”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. , 2nd edition, London: Jo Martyn, and Ja Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, →OCLC, page 122:

        By what I have touch’d in the Chapter of the Elms, concerning the peregrination of that Tree into Spain (where even in Plinie’s time there were none, and where now they are in great abundance) why ſhould we not more generally endeavour to propagate the Ilex amongſt us; […]

      • 1711 August 10 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “MONDAY, July 30, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 130; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, , volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 190:

        [O]ur linguist having received such extraordinary rudiments towards a good education, was afterwards trained up in every thing that becomes a gentleman; wearing off by little and little all the vicious habits and practices that he had been used to in the course of his peregrinations.

        The spelling has been modernized.

      • 1818 July 25, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], “I. Being Introductory.”, in Tales of My Landlord, Second Series,  (The Heart of Mid-Lothian), volume I, Edinburgh: [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Company, →OCLC, page 26:

        [T]hey had made what might be received as one or two tolerable jests on the subject before they had advanced far on their peregrination.

      • 1819 July 31, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “The Art of Book Making”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number II, New York, N.Y.: C S. Van Winkle, , →OCLC, pages 155–156:

        Thus it has been my hap, in my peregrinations about this great metropolis, to blunder upon a scene which unfolded to me some of the mysteries of the book making craft, and at once put my astonishment on this head at an end.

      • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 17: Ithaca]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, , →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 680:

        Whence, disappearing from the constellation of the Northern Crown he would somehow reappear reborn above delta in the constellation of Cassiopeia and after incalculable eons of peregrination return an estranged avenger, a wreaker of justice on malefactors, a dark crusader, a sleeper awakened, with financial resources (by supposition) surpassing those of Rothschild or the silver king.

   3. (figuratively)
      1. (uncountable) Broad or systematic discussion of a subject; (countable) an instance of this; a discourse.

         Synonym: perambulation

      2. (uncountable) Straying from the main subject in speech or writing; digression; (countable) an instance of this.

         Synonym: perambulation

   4. (uncountable, obsolete) The state of living abroad temporarily; sojourning; (countable) an act of doing this; a sojourn.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “peregrination”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

From Old French, from Latin peregrīnātiō (“journey”), from peregrīnor (“sojourn”).

peregrination f (plural peregrinations)

1. pilgrimage