Etymograph

English

errant

Errant comes from Old French errant ‘wandering’, from errer ‘to walk (to)’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-1‘to flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-ti1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāō1‘to roam, wander’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrō2as errāre‘to wander, rove, stray, roam’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400errer3‘to walk (to)’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400errant3‘wandering’present participle of errer
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400erraunt3
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500erraunt3
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611errant3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin erro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old French errer
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English errant
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Benjamin Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy: “Thy company, if I slept not very well /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-Wiktionary, Latin erro‘to flow’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ers-eh₂ye-tiWiktionary, Latin errouncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*erzāōWiktionary, Latin erro‘to roam, wander’uncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEerrōWiktionary, Old French erreras errāre‘to wander, rove, stray, roam’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400errerWiktionary, English errant‘to walk (to)’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400errantWiktionary, English errant‘wandering’present participle of errer
  7. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400errauntWiktionary, English errant
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500errauntWiktionary, English errant
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1611errantWiktionary, English errant. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, Benjamin Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy: “Thy company, if I slept not very well /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- ‘to flow’

rory, rouse, rishi, 20 more

through Latin errō ‘to wander, rove, stray, roam’

error, erroneous, erratic, errata, 6 more

through Old French errer ‘to walk (to)’

err, 1 more

Today it means

adj Straying from the proper course or standard, or outside established limits.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “errant”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin erro, Old French errer. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- / errant

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