Vagrant
Origin
Middle English vagraunt, from Anglo-French vageraunt, from present participle of vagrer to wander about, alteration (influenced by Latin vagari to wander) of wacrer to wander, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English wealcan to roll-walk
Definitions
- 1a : one who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place without lawful or visible means of support
- b : one (as a prostitute or drunkard) whose conduct constitutes statutory vagrancy
- 2: wanderer, rover
Description
A vagrant is a person in poverty, who wanders from place to place without a home or regular employment or income. Many towns in the Developed World have shelters for vagrants. Common terminology is a tramp or a 'gentleman of the road'. In legal terminology, a person with a source of income is not a vagrant, even if he/she is homeless.
In the fairy tales of medieval Europe, beggars cast curses on anyone who was insulting or stingy towards them. Witches would beg door-to-door for "milk, yeast, drink, pottage" in England. Throughout East Asian and South Asian countries, the condition of vagrancy has long been historically associated with the religious life as described in the religious literature of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Muslim Sufi traditions. Examples include sadhus, dervishes, Bhikkhus and the sramanic traditions generally.
