periplus
/ˈpɛɹɪˌplʌs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.58 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An account of a voyage, particularly those of Hanno and Arrian, recording ports and coastal landmarks.
Example Sentences
- "Then follows a Periplus of the Euxine-Sea, which bears the name of Arrian, and was undoubtedly written by him in the time of Adrian, as the inſcription ſhews."
- "The Periplûs of the Erythrêan Sea is the title prefixed to a work which contains the beſt account of the commerce carried on from the Red Sea and the coaſt of Africa to the Eaſt Indies, during the time that Egypt was a province of the Roman Empire."
- "Another great source of geographical information both for the ancients themselves and, so far as they still exist, for us also, are the Peripli (περίπλοι), that is, descriptions of the coasts of certain seas, in which the towns, ports, and promontories are enumerated, and often with their distances from one another. These peripli were drawn up for the guidance of sailors who had occasion to visit these seas for commercial and other purposes."
- "[…] the map of the world Ptolemy followed in his geography, finding the longitude that passed through the Gates of Herakles and the island of Rhodes, and placing north and south of it the world as recorded on the periploi of the Phoenician merchants."
- "A periplus of the Mediterranean: Greek sailing directions The following excerpt from one of the most complete periploi was attributed in the nineteenth century to the Greek merchant Scylax of Caryanda, known to have traded with settlements not only along the Red Sea but also on the shores of the Indian Ocean."
- "Listing cities along a coast, periploi gave details about sailing conditions, harbors, what the area imported or exported, what tariffs to expect, whether the people were friendly or not, and what noteworthy landmarks and marvels (mirabilia) one might expect to see. Hanno, whose periplus of Africa (circa 480 bce) was aborted when supplies ran out, described strange peoples and animals, including Trogodytes clad in animal skins and wild men, called "gorillas.""
Etymology
From Latin periplūs (“account of a voyage”) and Ancient Greek περίπλους (períplous, “voyage, naval manouver, account of a voyage”), from περί (perí, “peri-: around”) + πλοῦς (ploûs, “voyage”), from πλεῖν (pleîn, “to sail”). Cf. French périple, Spanish periplo, & Italian periplo.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: periplūs, περίπλους