From Latin 'circum' (around) + 'navigare' (to sail) — coined in the age of global exploration.
To sail or travel completely around something, especially the earth; to find a way around an obstacle.
From Latin 'circumnavigāre' (to sail around, to navigate in a circle around something), from 'circum-' (around, on all sides — from 'circus' (circle, ring), from PIE *sker- (to turn, to bend)) + 'nāvigāre' (to sail, to navigate), itself from 'nāvis' (ship) + 'agere' (to drive, to lead, to do), from PIE *neh₂u- (boat, ship) + *h₂eǵ- (to drive). The root *neh₂u- for ship is well-attested: Greek 'naus' (ship) gives 'nautical,' 'nausea' (originally seasickness — the sickness of being on a navis), and 'astronaut' (a star-sailor). Latin 'nāvis' gives 'navy,' 'naval,' and
The word 'nausea' is a cousin of 'circumnavigate' — both contain the PIE root *neh₂u- (boat). Greek 'nausia' (seasickness) comes from 'naus' (ship), because nausea was originally the sickness caused by the motion of ships. Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines in 1521; his crew