Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

travel

/ˈtɹævəl/ noun

In Latin: viō, itineror Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about travel at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The act of going from one place to another.
he enjoyed selling but he hated the travel
A movement through space that changes the location of something.
Self-propelled movement.

verb

Change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically.
How fast does your new car go?
Undertake a journey or trip.
Make a trip for pleasure.

Origin

PIE word *tréyes From Middle English travelen (“to make a laborious journey, travel”) from Middle Scots travailen (“to toil, work, travel”), alteration of Middle English travaillen (“to toil, work”), from Old French travailler (“to trouble, suffer, be worn out”). See the doublets travail and travois. Compare typologically routine << Latin rupta via. Note the inverse semantic vectors: travel moves from a subjective state (toil) to an objective action (journey), while routine moves from an objective object (beaten path) to a subjective pattern (habit). Largely displaced native fare, from Old English faran (“to go [a long distance], to travel”). More at fare.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word