Pedestrian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /pəˈdɛst.ɹi.ən/

Definitions

1. A person traveling by walking on foot ; something dull and uninspired, showing no creativity or excitement
2. An individual who moves by walking rather than using a vehicle ; characterized by monotony or blandness, without any originality
3. Someone who goes about on foot instead of driving ; marked by ordinary or boring qualities, lacking in thrill or imagination

Etymology: Latin "pedester" meant "on foot" and came from "pes" (foot), the same root behind "pedal" and "pedestal." The Romans used it of soldiers who fought on foot as opposed to cavalry, and it carried no sense of dullness at all. The English adjective "pedestrian" was formed from that Latin stem with the suffix "-an," and it first described things literally done on foot, such as a journey or a race. The noun for a person walking was a natural extension, since a traveller on foot was simply a walker. The sense that gives the word its modern edge came later: a pedestrian style of writing or speech was one that kept to the ground, with no flights of fancy. From there it was a short step to "ordinary" and "uninspired," so a dull lecture or an unimaginative mind could be called pedestrian. The word's meaning thus moved from how you travelled to how you thought.

Synonyms: walker, foot traveler, hiker

Antonyms: driver, motorist, cyclist, rider, passenger