Tru″ant, n. [F. truand, OF. truant, a vagrant, beggar; of Celtic origin; cf. W. tru, truan, wretched, miserable, truan a wretch, Ir. trogha miserable, Gael. truaghan a poor, distressed, or wretched creature, truagh wretched.] One who stays away from business or any duty; especially, one who stays out of school without leave; an idler; a loiterer; a shirk. Dryden.
I have a truant been to chivalry. Shak.
To play truant, to stray away; to loiter; especially, to stay out of school without leave. Sir T. Browne