Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.
  • noun A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Wandering: same as nomadic.
  • noun A wanderer; specifically, one of a wandering tribe; one of a pastoral tribe of people who have no fixed place of abode, but move about from place to place according to the state of the pasturage; hence, a member of any roving race.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Roving; nomadic.
  • noun One of a race or tribe that has no fixed location, but wanders from place to place in search of pasture or game.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a member of a group of people who, having no fixed home, move around seasonally in search of food, water and grazing etc.
  • noun a wanderer

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French nomade, from Latin nomas, nomad-, from Greek nomas, wandering in search of pasture; see nem- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French nomade, from Latin nomas (genitive nomadis ("wandering shepherd")), from Ancient Greek νομάς (nomas, "roaming, roving, wandering (to find pastures for flocks or herds)"), related to Ancient Greek νομός (nomos, "pasture").

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Examples

  • The best part about the nomad is that it is mobile and can be arranged into a whole host of configurations (lounge chair, sofa, single chair, etc)

    NOMAD GRASS LOUNGER by Matt Gagnon | Inhabitat 2006

  • -- Emily FlynnExhibits: The Art Is in the SpaceIf any artist today could be called a nomad, it's Canada-born photographer Gregory Colbert, who roams the globe shooting wildlife.

    Periscope 2007

  • -- Emily FlynnExhibits: The Art Is in the SpaceIf any artist today could be called a nomad, it's Canada-born photographer Gregory Colbert, who roams the globe shooting wildlife.

    PERISCOPE 2007

  • "As a last resort, trust Tamur, but only if there is no other way" He thought the nomad was the best of the lot, the least likely to betray a trust, but it was best not to test him too far.

    Conan The Unconquered Jordan, Robert, 1948- 1983

  • He thought the nomad was the best of the lot, the least likely to betray a trust, but it was best not to test him too far.

    Conan The Unconquered Jordan, Robert, 1948- 1983

  • We may -- we do -- rebel against it, and speak with rapture of an unfettered existence without material ties: but even in material things the nomad is the least creative, the least civilized of his kind.

    Sex and Common-Sense 1916

  • Takshac, the Huna and the Chaura, were considered by Colonel Tod to be the representatives of the Huns or Scythians, that is, the nomad invading tribes from Central Asia, whose principal incursions took place during the first five centuries of the Christian era.

    The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV Kumhar-Yemkala Robert Vane Russell 1894

  • Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations.

    WN.com - Business News 2010

  • Many work from home, while others, occasionally also referred to as nomad workers or web commuters utilize mobile telecommunications technology to work from coffee shops or myriad other locations.

    WN.com - Business News 2010

  • I am one such nomad, which is why I find myself in Hong Kong airport, now en route to Paris

    Travel news, travel guides and reviews | guardian.co.uk Rosie Birkett 2010

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