Ambulates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To move across distances using one's legs with intent and purpose while navigating from one point to another
2. To go from one place to another on foot with deliberate movement
3. To travel while using the legs to walk steadily between locations

Etymology: "Ambulates" is the third-person singular form of "ambulate," so it simply describes someone or something that walks or moves about. The verb comes from Latin "ambulare," meaning "to walk" or "go about," and it reached English as the past participle "ambulatus" in its Latin form. The surprise is that "ambulate" is a sibling of "amble," the gentle, unhurried gait, which descends from the same Latin source by a different route. Both words are doublets: one entered English through Latin scholarship, the other through everyday speech. The Latin verb itself combines "ambi-," meaning "around" or "about," with a root related to "alō," "to nourish" or "to go." The image is of walking around, covering ground in loops rather than in a straight line, which explains why the same root gives us both the scholarly "ambulate" and the relaxed "amble."

Synonyms: walks, strolls, moves, travels, wanders

Antonyms: sits, remains, stays