periplus
Syllables: pe·ri·plus/ˈpɛɹɪˌplʌs/
periplus noun: an account of a voyage, particularly those of Hanno and Arrian, recording ports and coastal landmarks.
Noun
periplus (plural peripluses or peripli or periploi)
- An account of a voyage, particularly those of Hanno and Arrian, recording ports and coastal landmarks.
- 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.1738, Pierre Bayle, John Peter Bernard, Thomas Birch, John Lockman [et al.], “Hudson (Dr. John)”, in A General Dictionary, Historical and Critical, volume VI, London: Printed by James Bettenham, for...
- 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.1800, William Vincent, The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, volume I, London: Printed by Andrew Strahan, Printers Street; for Thomas Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies […], →OCLC, page 3
- A voyage along a coast.
- In the great Ocean, California, its gulph, and the Vermilion Sea were known to Cortes; Cabrillo proceeded along the coast of New California as far as the 43d degree of north latitude; Galbi advanced to the 57th degree. Amidst so many real peripluses, Maldonado, Juan de Fuca, and Admiral de Fonte...1828, François-René de Chateaubriand, “Preface”, in Travels in America and Italy..., volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 39
- On the spot where he [Sebastian Cabot] landed he planted a large cross, with the flags of England and of St. Mark, and took possession for the King of England. If the statement be true that he coasted three hundred leagues, he may have made a periplus of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, returning home...1884, Charles Deane, “The Voyages of the Cabots”, in Justin Winsor, editor, Narrative and Critical History of America, volume III, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, →OCLC...
- Synonym of circuit: the path or distance around a coast.
- Synonyms:
- circuit
- Synonym of circumnavigation: a voyage around an island or the world.
- All the four books and the photograph are, in various degrees of literality or metaphoricity, about a periplus, the circumnavigation of an entire world, be that Homer's Mediterranean, Dante's hell, purgatory and paradise, Joyce's Dublin, or the cosmos of The Cantos, stretching across all the...1997, Manfred Pfister, “‘Sailing after Knowledge’: The Logbook Aesthetics of Pound's Cantos”, in Andreas Fischer, Martin Heusser, Thomas Herrmann, editors, Aspects of Modernism: Studies in Honour of...
- Synonyms:
- circumnavigation
periplus meaning in Persian
periplus in Persian
- record of ports and coastal landmarks
- رهنامه rahnâme
Examples of periplus in a sentence
- 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."2016, Georgia Lynette Irby, “Greek and Roman Cartography”, in Georgia L. Irby, editor, A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in...
- Amidst so many real peripluses, Maldonado, Juan de Fuca, and Admiral de Fonte, placed their chimerical voyages.1828, François-René de Chateaubriand, “Preface”, in Travels in America and Italy..., volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 39:
- If the statement be true that he coasted three hundred leagues, he may have made a periplus of the Gulf of St.1884, Charles Deane, “The Voyages of the Cabots”, in Justin Winsor, editor, Narrative and Critical History of America, volume III, Boston...
- Yes sir, I have seen vessels leaving there for distant peripluses – yes yes: peripluses.1978, Raymond Queneau, edited by Michael Edwards, Raymond Queneau (Prospice; 8), Portree, Isle of Skye: Aquila Pub. Co., →ISBN, →ISSN, page...
Synonyms of periplus
Forms of periplus
| plural | peripluses |
|---|---|
| plural | peripli |
| plural | periploi |
| alternative form | periplous |
Origin of periplus
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.
Questions about periplus
- What does periplus mean?
- Periplus means an account of a voyage, particularly those of Hanno and Arrian, recording ports and coastal landmarks.
- What is periplus in Persian?
- Periplus in Persian is رهنامه (rahnâme). See Periplus meaning in Persian.
- How do you use periplus in a sentence?
- 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."
- What part of speech is periplus?
- Periplus is a noun.
- How do you pronounce periplus?
- Periplus is pronounced /ˈpɛɹɪˌplʌs/.
- What is the plural of periplus?
- The plural of periplus is peripluses.
Words near periplus in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: periplus (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-periplus.wav.
Cite this entry: “periplus.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/periplus. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.