Visits

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈvɪzɪts/

Definitions

1. Goes to see a person or place for a short time as a guest or visitor ; an occasion when someone goes to see a person or place, usually for a short time
2. Travels to or stays with someone or somewhere temporarily for social or official reasons ; a specific instance of seeing or spending time with someone or at a place
3. Makes a brief journey to a person or location ; a particular event in which a person spends time with another or at a specific site

Etymology: "Visits" is simply the plural of the noun "visit," so the story belongs to that root. The verb and noun both trace back to Latin "vīsitō," a frequentative of "vīsō," meaning "behold" or "survey." A frequentative verb expresses repeated or intensive action, so the Latin sense was closer to going to look at something again and again. That verb itself comes from "videō," "see," which is also the source of many familiar words built on the idea of seeing. The word reached English through Old French "visiter" and arrived in Middle English as "visiten." It did not have to replace an existing term from scratch, though Old English had its own word for visiting, "sēċan," which the French-derived verb eventually displaced. The noun came into English from French "visite," and the two forms are doublets, meaning they entered English by separate routes from the same Latin source.

Synonyms: tours, calls, stops, trips, meetings

Antonyms: departures, leavings, farewells, absences, withdrawals