Circumnavigate
/ˌsɝː.kəmˈnæv.ə.ɡeɪt/noun
To travel all the way around something, especially the globe or a large body of water.
Did you know?Circumnavigate comes from Latin roots that literally mean “sail around,” and its core verb navigare is tied to ship travel, not just movement in general.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*nau-
“boat, ship”
Latin
Latin
navis
“ship”
Latin
Latin
circum- + navigare
“to sail around”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
circumnavigare
“to sail around”
16th Century
English
circumnavigate
“to sail completely around (especially the Earth)”
Modern English
English
circumnavigate
“to travel all the way around something”