divagate

American  

[dahy-vuh-geyt] / ˈdaɪ vəˌgeɪt /

verb (used without object)

divagated, divagating

1. to wander; stray.

2. to digress in speech.

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divagate British  

/ ˈdaɪvəˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. rare (intr) to digress or wander

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Other Word Forms

• divagation noun

Etymology

Origin of divagate

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dīvagātus (past participle of dīvagārī “to wander off”), equivalent to dī- di- ² + vag- (stem of vagārī “to wander”) + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

And the upshot is that the theistic determinist is never merciful, whereas the rational determinist is at least under a logical compulsion to be so, however he may resist or divagate.

From Rationalism by Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)

So does a child's balloon divagate upon the currents of the air, and touch and slide off again from every obstacle.

From A Book of English Prose Part II, Arranged for Secondary and High Schools by Lubbock, Percy

If it can be done in prose—that is the puzzle—I divagate again.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 24 (of 25) by Stevenson, Robert Louis

So does a child's balloon divagate upon the currents of the air, and touch, and slide off again from every obstacle.

From Across the Plains by Stevenson, Robert Louis

If it can be done in prose - that is the puzzle - I divagate again.

From Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson — Volume 2 by Stevenson, Robert Louis