Nomadic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /nəʊˈmæd.ɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to a lifestyle of moving from place to place rather than settling permanently in one location
2. Describing a way of life characterized by frequent travels between various locations instead of establishing a permanent home
3. Indicating a pattern of living that involves regularly relocating and avoiding fixed residences in favor of mobility

Etymology: The word traces back to the Greek "nomas," meaning a wandering herdsman, and "nomos," a word for pasture or the grazing grounds a herd moved across. The Greeks used "nomas" for people who drove their flocks from one pasture to another rather than settling on land, and the adjective "nomadikos" simply described that way of life. Herding peoples on the steppes and deserts were the original nomads, so the word was attached to a livelihood before it ever described a restless traveller. English took the form through Latin "nomadicus" and the French "nomade" route, and the adjective "nomadic" built on the noun "nomad" with the familiar "-ic" ending that turns a noun into a description. Its sense has widened since then. Where it once named a specific pastoral economy, it now describes anything that shifts from place to place, from migrating birds to people who never stay long in one city.

Synonyms: roaming, wandering, migratory, itinerant, vagrant

Antonyms: settled, stationary, fixed, permanent, rooted