errant

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

errant
A. travelling in quest of adventure, as in knight errant XIV;

B. †thorough (see ARRANT); C wandering, straying XV. — (O)F. errant, in which two distinct words have coalesced: (i) prp. of OF. errer, earlier †edrer travel as in quest of adventure :- Rom. *iterāre, for L. itinerāre (see ITINERANT), f. iter journey; (ii) prp. of (O)F. errer wander, ERR. In C — L. errāns, -ant-, prp. of errāre.
So error false belief XIII; mistake, wrongdoing XIV; wandering XVI. — OF. err(o)ur (mod. erreur):- L. error, errōr- :- *ersor (cf. ERR). erratic †wandering, vagrant XIV; eccentric or irregular in conduct XIX. — (O)F. erratique — L. errāticus, f. errāt-, pp. stem of errāre ERR; see -IC. So erratum XVI. sb. use of n. pp. of errāre. erroneous wrong, faulty. XIV. — OF. or L.; see -EOUS.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

T. F. HOAD. "errant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "errant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-errant.html

T. F. HOAD. "errant." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-errant.html

Learn more about citation styles