Circumnavigable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Possible to navigate entirely around an object or area Capable of being traversed in a complete loop without interruption Suitable for a journey that encircles the whole region or item
2. Capable of being sailed or traveled completely around a landmass, body of water, or object
3. Describes something that can be fully circled by a vehicle such as a ship or aircraft

Etymology: "Circumnavigable" is a plain English compound built from two parts. The first, "circum-", is a prefix borrowed from Latin "circum", meaning "around" or "about", which also gives us "circle", "circuit" and "circumference". The second part, "navigable", is an adjective meaning able to be sailed or traveled over by boat, and it descends from Latin "navigare", "to sail", from "navis" ("ship") and "agere" ("to drive"). Put together, the word describes something that can be sailed all the way around. A river is navigable if boats can travel along it; a lake or island is circumnavigable if a boat can make a complete loop of its shoreline. The prefix supplies the sense of completing a circuit, while "navigable" supplies the idea of passage by water.

Synonyms: sailable