Dictionary entry

Pilgrim

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Pil″grim (?), n. [OE. pilgrim, pelgrim, pilegrim, pelegrim; cf. D. pelgrim, OHG. piligrīm, G. pilger, F. pèlerin, It. pellegrino; all fr. L. peregrinus a foreigner, fr. pereger abroad; per through + ager land, field. See Per-, and Acre, and cf. Pelerine, Peregrine.] 1. A wayfarer; a wanderer; a traveler; a stranger.

Strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb. xi. 13.

2. One who travels far, or in strange lands, to visit some holy place or shrine as a devotee; as, a pilgrim to Loretto; Canterbury pilgrims. See Palmer. P. Plowman.