adjective
errant
EHRNT
adjective
1
Straying from what is normal, expected, or proper; behaving badly.
"The teacher had a quiet word with her errant students."
"An errant shot from the striker sailed over the crossbar."
noun
1
A knight-errant — a wandering knight from medieval romance who travels in search of adventure.
"The tale follows an errant on a quest to rescue the princess."
How to Use Errant
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDescribes something or someone that has wandered off course, whether literally (a stray ball) or in behaviour (a misbehaving person).
Easily confused with
arrant
Common pairings
errant knight
errant behaviour
errant shot
knight-errant
Word Forms
errants plural
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Etymology
From Old French errant, "wandering, traveling," ultimately tied to both Latin iter ("journey") and errare ("to wander, err") — a doublet of the word "arrant."