Circumvolves

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To travel or move completely around an object or area, encircling it fully
2. To revolve or proceed in a circular path around a point or thing
3. To go entirely around something by winding or orbiting it continuously

Etymology: "Circumvolves" is the third-person singular form of "circumvolve," a verb built from the Latin "circumvolvere," which combines "circum," meaning "around," with "volvere," meaning "to roll" or "to turn." The English verb therefore describes something rolling or turning around a central point, and the image in the Latin is literal: a thing wrapping or rolling about another. The root "volvere" is the same source behind many English words, including "revolve," "evolve," and "involve," which share the sense of turning or unrolling. Each takes a different prefix that shifts the rolling motion: "re-" suggests turning back on itself, "e-" suggests unrolling outward, and "in-" suggests wrapping inward. "Circumvolve" keeps the circling sense and makes it explicit, as the prefix "circum-" does the same job that "around" does in English.

Synonyms: revolves, circles, surrounds, encompasses, orbit

Antonyms: stray, depart, leave, disperse, dissipate