errant

adjective

er·rant ˈer-ənt

ˈe-rənt

Synonyms of errant next

: behaving wrongly

an errant child

: straying outside the proper path or bounds

an errant calf

: moving about aimlessly or irregularly

an errant breeze

: fallible

: traveling or given to traveling

an errant knight

errant noun

errantly adverb

Did you know?

Errant has a split history. It comes from Anglo-French, a language in which two confusingly similar verbs with identical spellings ("errer") coexisted. One errer meant "to err" and comes from the Latin errare, meaning "to wander" or "to err." The second errer meant "to travel," and traces to the Latin iter, meaning "road" or "journey." Both "errer" homographs contributed to the development of "errant," which not surprisingly has to do with both moving about and being mistaken. A "knight-errant" travels around in search of adventures. Cowboys round up "errant calves." An "errant child" is one who misbehaves. (You might also see "arrant" occasionally - it's a word that originated as an alteration of "errant" and that usually means "extreme" or "shameless.")

Examples of errant in a Sentence

The teacher blamed the prank on errant students. the errant gunslinger as a standard character in western novels

Recent Examples on the Web The sketch is told as a plaintive song performed by Chalamet, the best friend of the errant horse. —

Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2023 In each episode, Hunch and Audie must analyze an errant sound, identify it and return it to its origins, while also trying to unmask the Sound Swindler, the human culprit who is causing the disappearances. —

Laurel Graeber, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023 Hamas initially claimed the hospital was attacked in an Israeli strike; Israel countered after an investigation that it was hit by an errant missile launched by terrorists in Gaza. —

Kyle Morris, Fox News, 22 Oct. 2023 The explosion, both said, had come from an errant rocket fired by Gaza militants toward Israel. —

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2023 Israel has said the explosion was caused by an errant militant rocket fired from within Gaza. —

William Mauldin, WSJ, 18 Oct. 2023 An investigation by The New York Times later suggested that an errant Ukrainian missile was most likely to blame. —

Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2023 Evidence from the strike, witness accounts, missile fragments, and social media posts analyzed by the New York Times concluded that this missile was most likely an errant Ukrainian air defense missile. —

Mike Brest, Washington Examiner, 19 Sep. 2023 The incident becomes the focal point of a global media circus, as nearly a hundred foreign correspondents descend on the tiny Finnish village: an invasion well out of proportion to what would wind up being an errant Soviet missile that wandered off-course. —

Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 19 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'errant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler

The first known use of errant was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century