Virare

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To alter a direction or course, especially by turning or shifting movements ; to veer or swerve in orientation ; to cause a change in the pathway or heading of something
2. Shifting from one trajectory to another by means of turning ; redirecting or veering from an established path ; guiding or causing movement along a new direction
3. To move aside or rotate from an original line by turning ; deviating or adjusting movement from a set path ; steering or causing something to take a different route

Etymology: "Virare" is a Latin verb meaning "to turn" or "to wheel around," and it is the source of the English word "veer." The Latin root is "vertere," "to turn," which also gave English "verse," "versus," and "convert." Latin "virare" was a rarer verb, probably formed from a Latin base meaning "to turn" or "to twist," and its exact internal history is uncertain, so its origin should be treated as a matter of scholarly debate rather than settled fact. The verb reached English through Old French and was used for the turning of a ship. It appears in English around the 1600s, first in nautical contexts, where "to veer" meant letting out a rope or cable, or changing a ship's direction by turning it away from the wind. The sense of turning sideways from a course, which the meaning given here describes, grew out of that seafaring use and was later applied to anything that changes direction gradually, such as a car, a conversation, or public opinion.