To play truant

To play truant
Truant Tru"ant, n. [F. truand, OF. truant, a vagrant, beggar; of Celtic origin; cf. W. tru, truan, wretched, miserable, truan a wretch, Ir. trogha miserable, Gael. truaghan a poor, distressed, or wretched creature, truagh wretched.] One who stays away from business or any duty; especially, one who stays out of school without leave; an idler; a loiterer; a shirk. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

I have a truant been to chivalry. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{To play truant}, to stray away; to loiter; especially, to stay out of school without leave. --Sir T. Browne [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • play truant — index flee Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • play truant — stay away from school, truant; Brit. informal skive (off), bunk off; Irish informal mitch (off); N. Amer. informal play hookey, goof off; …   Useful english dictionary

  • play truant —    A young person who plays truant stays away from school without permission or excuse.     Ben has no reason to be absent from school he s playing truant again! …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • play truant — more than half of the freshman class staged a protest by playing truant on Monday Syn: stay away from school; informal skip school, skip, play hooky; book out …   Thesaurus of popular words

  • play truant — British to stay away from school without permission Parents often don t know their children are playing truant …   English dictionary

  • play truant — verb To be absent from school without permission. Syn: cut class, skip class, play hookey, bunk, bump off, wag …   Wiktionary

  • play truant — be absent from school without permission …   English contemporary dictionary

  • truant — [tro͞o′ənt] n. [ME < OFr, beggar, vagabond < Celt, as in Ir trōgán, dim. of truag, wretched] 1. Obs. a lazy, idle person 2. a pupil who stays away from school without permission 3. a person who neglects his or her work or duties adj. 1.… …   English World dictionary

  • Truant — Tru ant, n. [F. truand, OF. truant, a vagrant, beggar; of Celtic origin; cf. W. tru, truan, wretched, miserable, truan a wretch, Ir. trogha miserable, Gael. truaghan a poor, distressed, or wretched creature, truagh wretched.] One who stays away… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • truant — ► NOUN ▪ a pupil who stays away from school without permission or explanation. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ wandering; straying. ► VERB (also play truant) ▪ (of a pupil) stay away from school without permission or explanation. DERIVATIVES truancy noun …   English terms dictionary

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