Volitation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /vɒlɪˈteɪʃən/

Definitions

1. The phenomenon of moving through the air with the capacity to ascend from the ground can be defined as a form of elevated motion
2. A specific type of movement that entails being airborne and navigating through the atmosphere without any physical support is described here
3. The act of soaring through the air while rising from a surface represents a unique category of motion that is not reliant on any external aiding device

Etymology: "Volitation" comes to English from Medieval Latin "volitātiō," a noun built on the Latin verb "volitāre," meaning "to fly about" or "to flutter." That verb is a frequentative form of "volāre," "to fly," so its sense is repeated, back-and-forth flight rather than a single flap or glide. The same root gives English "volant," meaning able to fly, and "volery," an aviary or a flock of birds. The word's ancestor, "volitāre," was already a lively verb in Classical Latin, used for birds and insects darting about and for rumors circulating. Medieval Latin then turned the verb into a noun, "volitātiō," for the act of flying around, and English borrowed that noun in its learned form. Because the word sits so close to "volition" in appearance, many readers assume they are related, but "volition" comes from a different Latin verb, "velle," "to wish," so the two words share only a surface resemblance.

Synonyms: flight, flying, soaring, gliding, hovering

Antonyms: grounding, landing, descent, falling, plummeting