circumambulation
/ˌsɝ.kəmˌæm.bjuˈleɪ.ʃən/
circumambulation means the act of walking around something in a circle, especially for a ritual purpose. It carries an Arena rating of 1613, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, circumambulation ranks #160 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,692 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,049 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,797 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
circumambulation is pronounced /ˌsɝ.kəmˌæm.bjuˈleɪ.ʃən/.
Why “circumambulation” is a great word
The act of walking in a circle around a sacred object, shrine, or territory, especially as a devotional or ceremonial practice. From Latin circumambulātiō, from circum- ("around") and ambulāre ("to walk"), with the English suffix -ation; first recorded in English in the 1650s. Unlike perambulation (which suggests a secular, often administrative or leisurely stroll) or revolution (which denotes a mechanistic or orbital turn), circumambulation is a walking meditation, a kinetic prayer. It is the measured, sun-warmed tread of pilgrims around the Kaaba, the patient clockwise orbit of monks around a stupa, the silent footsteps tracing the perimeter of a sacred grove—a bodily inscription of reverence upon the earth, making the world whole again with each completed circle.
Etymology
From circum- + ambulation, borrowed from Latin circumambulātiō.
noun
- The act of walking around something in a circle, especially for a ritual purpose.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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