Orienteered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have navigated or directed oneself through a particular area using a map and compass
2. To have efficiently planned a route across varied terrain by employing navigation skills with a map
3. To have undertaken the act of guiding oneself in unfamiliar surroundings, particularly in a competitive context using navigational tools

Etymology: "Orienteered" is the past tense and past participle of "orienteer," a verb borrowed from Swedish "orientera," which in Swedish meant to orient oneself, to find one's bearings. The Swedish verb came from "orientera" in the sense of getting one's bearings by reference to the points of the compass, so the English word inherited that sense of finding direction rather than any idea of sport or competition. The English verb traces back to the sport of orienteering, a competitive race in which participants use a map and compass to navigate between checkpoints across unfamiliar, often wooded, terrain. Its use as a verb meaning to have planned or navigated a route this way follows naturally from the sport's name, with "orienteer" describing the act of finding one's way with a map.

Synonyms: navigated, guided, directed

Antonyms: lost, misguided, confused