So I'm looking for a single word to describe someone or something such as a wandering scholar, or a person who travels to obtain knowledge, or even a mobile repository of information.
Preferably something archaic and eclectic.
Thanks
archaicismssingle-word-requestssynonyms
So I'm looking for a single word to describe someone or something such as a wandering scholar, or a person who travels to obtain knowledge, or even a mobile repository of information.
Preferably something archaic and eclectic.
Thanks
Best Answer
The one word I suggest is 'vagans':
["vagantes, n.". OED Online. September 2015. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/221003?rskey=s5m8v6&result=7&isAdvanced=true (accessed December 02, 2015).]
George F. Whicher described the vagantes and their origins in the introductory chapter of his book of translations of The Goliard Poets (1949):
That description might suggest that gyrovagi would also work; gyrovagi, however, has not found sufficient use in English for it to be included as an English word in the OED. Another term, Sarabaites, similar to gyrovagi, is found in the OED, but as a referent it has an oblique relationship with scholarship:
["Sarabaite, n.". OED Online. September 2015. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/170913?rskey=zFSowd&result=1&isAdvanced=true (accessed December 02, 2015).]
The term goliard might also be considered useful as a description of wandering scholars. Its meaning, however, is typically more restricted:
["goliard, n.". OED Online. September 2015. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/79829?redirectedFrom=goliard (accessed December 02, 2015).]