circumnavigate

English

WOTD - 27 January 2009    

Etymology

From Latin circumnāvigātus, perfect passive participle of circumnāvigō (“sail round something, circumnavigate”), from circum (“about, around”) + nāvigō (“sail, navigate”), from nāvis (“ship”) + agō (“do”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌsə.kəmˈnæv.ɪ.ɡeɪt/
• (US) IPA: /ˌsɝ.kəmˈnæv.ɪ.ɡeɪt/

• Audio (US)

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Verb

circumnavigate (third-person singular simple present circumnavigates, present participle circumnavigating, simple past and past participle circumnavigated)

1. (transitive) To travel completely around somewhere or something, especially by sail.

   We circumnavigated the Mediterranean.

2. (transitive) To circumvent or bypass.
   • 2006 July 9, “Magic month of memories”:

     Rebel of the tournament: Saudi Arabia’s Malek Al Hawsawi, who circumnavigated Fifa’s ban on jewellery by keeping his ring in his mouth.

3. (intransitive, sailing) To sail around the world.
   • 1992, Richard Henderson, Singlehanded Sailing^[1], ISBN 0070281645, page 225:

     Patrick Childress, who solo circumnavigated on a Catalina 27 in 1982, stresses the value of eggs, which will keep at least six weeks if previously unrefrigerated and oiled with vegetable shortening.

   • 1997, Diana Jessie, The Cruising Woman's Advisor^[2], ISBN 0070319812, page 30:

     Jack and Lura Francis, both fairly tall, circumnavigated on a Westsail 32.

   • 2004 March 10, Edward Gorman, “Van den Heede rewarded for perseverance”:

     Chay Blyth was the first when he circumnavigated in British Steel in 292 days in 1970 in a voyage that some predicted would end in certain death.

Synonyms

• (travel completely around): compass, go around, sail around
• (circumvent): circumvent, go round

Related terms

• circumnavigation
• circumnavigator
• navigate

Translations

to sail completely around something

Catalan: circumnavegar (ca) Czech: obeplout (cs) Finnish: purjehtia jonkin ympäri French: circumnaviguer (fr) German: umschiffen (de)

Italian: circumnavigare (it) Latin: circumnāvigō (la) Scottish Gaelic: iom-sheòl (gd) Spanish: circunnavegar (es)

to circumvent or bypass

Czech: obejít (cs) Finnish: kiertää (fi)

German: umschiffen (de)

to sail around the world

Finnish: purjehtia maailman ympäri

German: die Welt umsegeln

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Italian

Verb

circumnavigate

1. second-person plural present indicative of circumnavigare
2. second-person plural imperative of circumnavigare
3. Feminine plural of circumnavigato

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Latin

Verb

circumnāvigāte

1. first-person plural present active imperative of circumnāvigō