pilgrim

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

pilgrim^¹

/ˈpɪlɡɹɪm/

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English pilegrim, from Old English pilegrī̆m, from Old French pelegrin, from Latin peregrīnus (“foreigner”). Doublet of peregrine.

The change of /r…r/ to /l…r/ is an effect of dissimilation in early Romance; compare Italian pellegrino.

noun pilgrims

literary Any traveler. strangers and pilgrims on the earth
broadly An early American settler.
slang A newcomer. "I wouldn't unfork that horse yet, pilgrim. I want a good look at ya first."
historical A silk screen formerly attached to the back of a woman's bonnet to protect the neck.

verb pilgrims · pilgriming · pilgrimed

intransitive To make a pilgrimage [T]o all galleries, churches, sistine chapels, ruins, coliseums, and artistic or dilettante shrines he zealously pilgrimed[.]
archaic, intransitive To wander; to ramble. For that he hath no certain home, or diet, but pilgrims up and down every where, feeding upon all sorts of Plants

Pilgrim^²

noun Pilgrims

historical, plural normally A settler of the Plymouth Colony, who left for the New World in the early 17th century.
Someone connected with Plymouth Argyle Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.

proper noun

A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: palmer, pilgrimage, peregrine, basking, hag, cape, chemin, haji, haj, hajj, hajji, falcon, hajjis, traveler, journeyer, sojourner

Translations

Every language

noun traveler, especially to religious sites

Español	peregrino
한국어	순례자 sullyeja
日本語	巡礼者 junreisha
中文	朝覲者 /朝觐者 cháojìnzhě, 朝聖者 /朝圣者 cháoshèngzhě, 巡禮者 /巡礼者 xúnlǐzhě, 香客 xiāngkè
हिन्दी	तीर्थयात्री tīrthayātrī
Português	peregrino
Français	pèlerin
Deutsch	Pilger, Wallfahrer
Italiano	pellegrino
Ελληνικά	προσκυνητής proskynitís
Română	pelerin
Русский	пало́мник palómnik, пилигри́м piligrím, стра́нник stránnik, богомо́лец bogomólec
Tiếng Việt	người hành hương
العربية	حَاجّ ḥājj, حَجِّيّ ḥajjiyy
עברית	עוֹלֵה רֶגֶל olé régel, צַלְיָן tsalyán

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"pilgrim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pilgrim. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pilgrim. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pilgrim

Chicago

"pilgrim." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pilgrim.

BibTeX

@misc{pilgrim_2026,
  title = {pilgrim},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pilgrim},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}