pil·grim / ˈpilgrəm/ • n. a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. ∎  (usu.Pilgrim) a member of a group of English Puritans fleeing religious persecution who sailed in the Mayflower and founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. ∎  a person who travels on long journeys. ∎ chieflypoetic/lit. a person whose life is compared to a journey. • v. (-grimed,-grim·ing) [intr.] archaic travel or wander like a pilgrim. DERIVATIVES: pil·grim·ize / -ˌmīz/ v. ( archaic ). ORIGIN: Middle English: from Provençal pelegrin, from Latin peregrinus ‘foreign’ (seeperegrine).

pilgrim a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. The word comes (in Middle English) from Provençal pelegrin, from Latin peregrinus ‘foreign’ (cf. peregrine).
Pilgrim Fathers the pioneers of British colonization of North America. A group of 102 people led by English Puritans fleeing religious persecution sailed in the Mayflower and founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
pilgrim's hat a type of broad-brimmed hat as worn by pilgrims, the emblem of St James the Great. It may be ornamented with a pilgrim's shell or scallop shell, carried by a pilgrim as a sign of having visited a shrine, in particular that of St James the Great at Compostela in Spain.
The Pilgrim's Progress title of an allegorical story (1678–84) by John Bunyan, of which the first part tells of the journey of Christian to the Celestial City, and the second the journey of his wife Christiana, guided by Greatheart. The story takes the form of a dream in which the narrator sees Christian (accompanied by Faithful) fleeing from the City of Destruction, and passing through such snares of the world as the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair (where Faithful is put to death), the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and Doubting Castle, before reaching the Celestial City. Sustained by Evangelist, and his later companion Hopeful, he faces Giant Despair, Apollyon, and many enemies on his way.

pilgrim †wayfarer XII; one who journeys to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion XIII; P. Fathers XVIII. ME. pilegrim — Pr. pelegrin = (O)F. pèlerin — L. peregrīnus foreign; see PEREGRINE.
So pilgrimage XIII (pelrim-, pilegrim-). — Pr. pilgrinatge = (O)F. pèlerinage.