Concept in Definition ABC

The adjective itinerant is used to indicate that something or someone moves regularly. This word comes from Latin and literally means "going from one place to another". In Spanish there are several synonyms that we can use: nomadic, itinerant, errant or migratory.

In any activity in which it is necessary to travel, a route or route must be followed, that is, an itinerary. For the way to go to make sense, some kind of support or support tool is necessary, be it a map, a GPS device, a compass or simply a good sense of orientation.

In relation to people

When man began to master agricultural techniques he abandoned nomadism and became sedentary. Is rule In general, there are some exceptions, since today there are nomadic peoples, such as the desert of the Sahara or the Eskimos of Greenland.

It is worth remembering that some towns in the basin of the Amazon practice a type of farming Itinerant, since when the soil is no longer fertile they are forced to move to other places.

Certain professional activities are characterized precisely by being carried out on an itinerant basis

Street vendors or merchants, postmen, drivers, or street vendors are examples of this.

Certain professions that have disappeared or are on the way to extinction were carried out on an itinerant basis, such as the omen who sold water from house to house or the knife sharpener that traveled through various towns offering their services.

Probably the activity in which there is a displacement most evident is grazing during transhumance (if we take as a reference the territory of Spain there are still a few transhumant shepherds).

In the field of normative from safety Occupational accidents include possible in itinere accidents, that is, accidents that occur on the route between the worker's home and his workplace.

Outside of the world of work, there are people who in their daily lives have the habit of going from one place to another without a fixed direction, such as homeless people or some travelers. Of course, the fugitive who flees from justice also leads a wandering life.

In culture

In the art world, many exhibitions are not held in a fixed place, but rather are organized in an itinerant way. With this approach, the works that are exhibited can reach a greater number of people.

The companies of theater They normally make tours and, therefore, their activity consists of moving from one locality to another.

Fotolia photos: Nito / Brimeux / Olivier Rault