Peregrine.
adjective.
1. having a tendency to wander; traveling or migratory.
2. coming from abroad.
[Origin: Middle French peregrin, from Medieval Latin peregrinus, foreign, from pereger being abroad, from per through + ager land (that is, beyond one’s own land)
(1350 – 1400)
There were a score or so of the peregrines, come from Carlisle, most them burghers, guild-brothers in the tanners’ guild.
– Something Red, Douglas Nicholas.
3) n (informal) =Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus. Short form used by bird-watchers and their ilk.
(e.g., “I was just doing some rock climbing in the gorge, when wham! this Peregrine swooped down out of nowhere, practically took my head off!”)
I’d never seen the Latin derivation of this word before, that is most interesting. I’m no student of Latin, but I do see the root per in some English words, but not ager. “Villager” perhaps?
Yes, I know about the falcon, most everyone does, but that naming also meant the loss of the word, which I find quite sad. It’s a fantastic word, and it deserves usage, outside of the name.
Also, the British definition does not include the falcon. I am not America-centric when it comes to words.
I hang out on iNaturalist (a social network for bio-nerds). One member there goes by the screen name “peregrin8”, a play on the verb form.
Siwuloki:
Nice one!