Soar

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /sɔː/

Definitions

1. To rise high into the air or to increase rapidly and substantially
2. To ascend gracefully into the sky or to experience a significant and swift rise in level or intensity
3. To fly aloft with ease and elegance or to achieve a marked and rapid elevation in performance or status

Etymology: Soar came into English from Old French "essorer," meaning "to fly up, soar," and the French word itself traces back to a Vulgar Latin form "exaurare," which meant "to rise into the air." Its deepest root is the Latin "aura," "the air, a breeze," which in turn goes back to the Ancient Greek "aúra," "breath." So a word now used for eagles climbing on thermals is built on the idea of air moving, or breathing. The Latin prefix "ex-" ("out") joined "aura" to make the verb, so the sense is literally of rising out into the air. That same "aura" sits behind the English word "aura," which once meant a breeze or breath before it came to mean a surrounding atmosphere or quality, and behind "exhale," which is breathing out. Soar and exhale are close cousins, both descending from a Latin verb built on the same breath of air.

Synonyms: fly, rise, ascend, glide, hover

Antonyms: descend, plummet, fall