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Today it means

navigate

to plan and direct the course of a ship or vehicle

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Where does the word "navigate" come from? It comes from Latin nāvis + agere, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

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Where does the word "navigate" come from? It comes from Latin nāvis + agere, and was adopted directly into English (1580s).

Navigate’s story begins in Latin: nāvis + agere meant “to drive a ship.” 'ship' plus 'to drive'; 'navy', 'naval', 'nave' (a church ship-shape) and 'nausea' come from 'nāvis'. It reached English by 1580s as navigate. The verb came with the Age of Discovery, when navigation became a science. Today, navigate means to plan and direct the course of a ship or vehicle.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient nāvis + agere "to drive a ship", 'ship' plus 'to drive'; 'navy', 'naval', 'nave' (a church ship-shape) and 'nausea' come from 'nāvis'.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1580s navigate "to sail, steer", the verb came with the Age of Discovery, when navigation became a science.

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