vagabondo
/va.ɡaˈbon.do/masculine
The Italian word for tramp is vagabondo.
Meaning: homeless person (noun)
Which one should you use?
While vagabondo implies a wandering lifestyle, senza tetto is a more neutral, descriptive term for someone without a permanent home.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine singular form is vagabondo. To refer to a female tramp, use the feminine form vagabonda. For a group of homeless people, use the masculine/mixed plural vagabondi or use the feminine plural vagabonde if referring specifically to homeless women.
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 4 syllables, with the stress on the 3rd syllable: /va.ɡaˈbon.do/.
Did you know?
- In modern Italian cities, you will often hear the French loanword clochard instead of vagabondo to describe a homeless person.
- The term vagabondo is frequently used in a poetic or romantic sense to describe a 'free spirit' who consciously rejects the constraints of bourgeois society.
- The Italian word vagabondo and the English word 'vagabond' are essentially linguistic twins, both descending from the Late Latin 'vagabundus'.
Examples in context
- Il vento faceva soffrire tanto il vagabondo.The cold wind pained the tramp terribly.This sentence shows the use of vagabondo to describe someone suffering from the wind.Tatoeba #10547046 by jacopofar, translation #5228677 by joshodude_1308
- Ho visto un senzatetto nella piazza.I saw a homeless person in the square.
- Questa città è piena di persone vagabonde.This city is full of wandering people.
- Non giudicare un libro dalla copertina, potresti scoprire un barbone col cuore d'oro.Don't judge a book by its cover, you may discover a tramp with a heart of gold.
- Un povero vagabondo dormiva sulla panchina.A poor tramp was sleeping on the bench.
- Hanno aiutato quel vagabondo con un pasto caldo.They helped that tramp with a hot meal.
Example conversation
Chiara and Lorenzo see a man on the street.
- ChiaraGuarda quel povero vagabondo.Look at that poor tramp.
- LorenzoSembra che abbia molto freddo.He looks very cold.
- ChiaraDagli la mia coperta.Give him my blanket.
- LorenzoSì, lo aiuto subito.Yes, I will help him right away.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tramp” translations and entries vagabondo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries vagabondo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
