Vagabondage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A lifestyle defined by perpetual movement without a designated home base
2. The condition of living without a permanent home and continuously moving from place to place
3. A way of life characterized by wandering constantly and not settling anywhere

Etymology: Vagabondage descends from Latin "vagus," meaning "wandering" or "unsettled," the same root that gives English "vague," which once described something drifting without a fixed shape. Latin speakers added "-bundus," a suffix expressing a tendency or inclination, to form "vagabundus," a person given to wandering. Medieval Latin shortened this to "vagabundus" with the sense of a homeless wanderer, and French took it up as "vagabond," which English borrowed in the same form. The word that concerns us here adds the suffix "-age," which in French denotes a state, condition, or collective practice. French formed "vagabondage" from "vagabond" plus this suffix, so the word names the whole way of life of the wanderer rather than the wanderer himself. English borrowed it directly from French.