divagate

To wander about.

Verb

  1. To wander about.
  2. To stray from a subject or theme.
    • The fallen guillotine blade is replaced with a call to awareness that, as we have seen, divagates from Szpiner's "Ayez pitié des enfants." - 2010, Noah McLaughlin, French War Films and National Identity, page 51:

Origin

First attested in 1599; borrowed from Latin dīvagātus, perfect active participle of dīvagor (“to wander here and there”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin dis- (“in different direction”) + vagor (“to wander”). Cognate with French divaguer.

Forms

divagates divagating divagated

Related

divagation