Nomad and vagabond are both wanders who is basically a person who has no fixed or permanent place to live. Both nomad and vagabond are sort of on a trip to nowhere and are always moving from one place to another with no fixed destination.
A vagabond is more of a person who is on a trip somewhere but without a defined period of time for the trip. They have more than one destination with no specific time length. A nomad is a person who is always wandering from one place to another and has no fixed place of residence.
Nomad vs Vagabond
The difference between nomad and vagabond is that a nomad is a person who is always wandering from one place to another and has no fixed or permanent place, who is moving around from one place to another seasonally in search of food and shelter while a vagabond is someone who is on a trip to many destinations without a specific period of time.
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A nomad is basically a member of some community without a foxed place to live and no shelter who is continuously moving from one place to another in the same area. These groups include many different forms of nomads like hunters and gatherers, pastoral nomads, tinkers, or even trade nomads. \
The population of these pastoral nomads slowly started to decrease in the twentieth century.
A vagabond, who is also known as a vagrant, is basically a homeless person having no regular or permanent income. They usually live in extreme poverty that generally supports themselves by petty thefts, begging, or some temporary works.
Talking about their history, vagrancy was generally associated with petty crimes and begging.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Nomad | Vagabond |
|---|---|---|
| What are they? | A nomad is basically a member of some community without a foxed place to live and no shelter who is continuously moving from one place to another in the same area. | A vagabond, also known as a vagrant, is basically a homeless person with no regular or permanent income. |
| History | Slowly, their population reached only 30-40 million in the whole world as of 1995. | Talking about their history, vagrancy was generally associated with petty crimes and begging. |
| Residence and employment | Nomads do not have permanent residence or a regular job to survive. | Vagabonds are continuously moving and doing temporary jobs to survive. |
| Lifestyle | Nomads usually have a very different diet than they normally consume very few amounts vegetables and no fruits. | Vagabonds are the people who are basically outsiders and came to settle in the towns or bigger areas in search of employment or search of some help and charity. |
| Groups | Nomad’s groups include many different nomads like hunters and gatherers, pastoral nomads, tinkers, or even trade-nomads. | There is no specific or separate group of vagabonds. |
What is Nomad?
A nomad is basically a member of some community without a foxed place to live and no shelter who is continuously moving from one place to another in the same area. These groups include many different forms of nomads like hunters and gatherers, pastoral nomads, tinkers, or even trade nomads.
The population of these pastoral nomads slowly started to decrease in the twentieth century.
Slowly, their population reached only 30-40 million in the whole world as of the year 1995. These nomadic hunting and gathering seasonally include the wild plant and animals and their games and so far is the oldest human method of subsistence.
To our amazement, nomadism is also a form of lifestyle that was actually adapted to infertile some of the regions like- steppe, tundra, ice, and sand, these were the regions where mobility was the most efficient and most used strategy to exploit the scarce resources present in those areas.
What is Vagabond?
A vagabond, who is also known as a vagrant is basically a homeless person having no regular or permanent income. They usually live in extreme poverty that generally supports themselves by petty thefts, begging, or some temporary works.
Talking about their history, vagrancy was generally associated with petty crimes and begging.
Both of the words vagabond and vagrant are derived from the Latin word ‘vagari,’ which means wandering. The main term vagabond is derived from the Latin word ‘vagabundus.’ In Middle English, vagabond is a word that is denoted or for a person who is without a home and employment.
Historically speaking, vagabonds are the people who are basically outsiders and came to settle in the towns or bigger areas in search of employment or in search of some help and charity.
While some of the sources from the ancient time show vagrants or vagabonds as passive objects of pity, who wants and deserves some help and charity for their survival.
Main Differences Between Nomad and Vagabond
- A nomad is basically a member of some community without a foxed place to live and no shelter who is continuously moving from one place to another in the same area, while a vagabond, who is also known as a vagrant, is basically a homeless person having no regular or permanent income.
- Slowly, their population reached only 30-40 million in the whole world as of the year 1995, while for vagabonds, talking about their history, vagrancy was generally associated with petty crimes and begging.
- Nomads do not have permanent residence or a regular job to survive, and Vagabonds are continuously moving and doing temporary jobs to survive.
- Nomads usually have a very different diet than they normally consume very few amounts of vegetables and no fruits at all, while Vagabonds are the people who are basically outsiders and came to settle in the towns or bigger areas in search of employment or in search of some help and charity.
- Nomad‘s groups include many different forms of nomads like hunters and gatherers, pastoral nomads, tinkers, or even trade-nomads, but there is no specific or separate group of vagabonds.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471772707000127
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=kxpAAQAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=what+is+a+vagabond&ots=zPjjl0Cg37&sig=kYz_TORC-A8C2E7xWm20TKYAK5k
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
