Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state of being a vagrant.
- noun The conduct or mode of existence of a vagrant.
- noun The offense of being a vagrant.
- noun An erratic notion or unpredictable action.
- noun An unpredictable development or change of circumstances.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A state of wandering without a settled home: not necessarily in a bad sense.
- noun The life and condition of a vagrant; in law, the name given to a very miscellaneous class of offenses against public police and order. See
vagrant .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The quality or state of being a vagrant; a wandering without a settled home; an unsettled condition; vagabondism.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun the state of being a
vagrant
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the state of wandering from place to place; having no permanent home or means of livelihood
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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He then continues: "This experience reiterated the lesson that the vast majority of these wanderers are of the class with whom a life of vagrancy is a chosen means of living without work."
THE TRAMP 2010
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Dear Mollie -- I was glad to know that bound with the fetters of Science, and depressed by thought, you were Struggling yet to ascend the rugged Steep -- where "Star eyed Science" and fame unfold their banners to every anxious aspirant, and under whose folds of magnitude and magnificence all alike are permitted to recumb, and recur those who have in vagrancy strayed "tracing Shadows" -- beware of
Letter from Young John Allen to Mollie Houston,June 2, 1854 2008
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And meanwhile the quite obvious cause of vagrancy is staring one in the face.
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He then continues: "This experience reiterated the lesson that the vast majority of these wanderers are of the class with whom a life of vagrancy is a chosen means of living without work."
The Tramp 1905
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Court of Miracles, a crutch metamorphosable into a club; it is called vagrancy; every sort of spectre, its dressers, have painted its face, it crawls and rears, the double gait of the reptile.
Les Miserables 2008
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But how far could they go before they would be arrested for what the white people called vagrancy?
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule Harriette Gillem Robinet 1998
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But how far could they go before they would be arrested for what the white people called vagrancy?
Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule Harriette Gillem Robinet 1998
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The next three were called vagrancy: (1) Loafing on the docks; (2) "sleeping out" nights; (3) getting "wandering spells."
The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets Jane Addams 1897
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It no longer walks, it hobbles; it limps on the crutch of the Court of Miracles, a crutch metamorphosable into a club; it is called vagrancy; every sort of spectre, its dressers, have painted its face, it crawls and rears, the double gait of the reptile.
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Court of Miracles, a crutch metamorphosable into a club; it is called vagrancy; every sort of spectre, its dressers, have painted its face, it crawls and rears, the double gait of the reptile.
Les Misérables Victor Hugo 1843
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