Peregrination

Peregrination is a noun meaning a journey or travel from place to place, especially a long or wandering one. In English, it can refer to physical travel across lands and seas or to a more metaphorical wandering of the mind. The term derives from Latin peregrinatio, from peregrinus meaning foreign, a stranger. Through Old French and into Middle English, peregrination retained a sense of voyaging beyond familiar borders.

Historically, peregrination was used in medieval and early modern English to describe long journeys, often with an emphasis on the experiences of travel rather than a fixed destination. The word is often associated with travel writing, exploration, or study conducted abroad. The verb peregrinate exists, meaning to travel or wander from place to place.

In modern usage, peregrination is relatively rare outside formal or literary contexts; it may be used to evoke the romance or hardship of travel, or to describe an extended intellectual or spiritual wandering. It is distinct from pilgrimage, which connotes religious motive; while peregrination can include pilgrimage, it is generally broader and secular in its connotation.