Etymology

gyrovague

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Today it means: A wandering monk having no fixed monastery, as exemplified in the Rule of St. Benedict. Full definition →

French gyrovague ← Medieval Latin gȳrovagus
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · derived fromgȳrovagus“wandering aimlessly”
  2. French · borrowed fromgyrovague
  3. English todaygyrovague

Early 19th century, borrowed from French gyrovague, from Medieval Latin gȳrovagus (“wandering aimlessly”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.