trajectory

C2+ Topic:Education & Learning

US /trəˈdʒɛktəri/ UK /trəˈdʒɛktəri/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the curved path of a moving object; a course of development

The rocket's trajectory carried it neatly into a stable orbit.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the curved path of a moving... path course arc route track flight curve

Word family

Related forms trajectileproject eject inject

Simplified etymology

Trajectory entered English in the late Middle English period and belongs to the family of Latin jacere, “to throw.” Its underlying meaning is “something thrown across.”

Etymology

From New Latin trajectoria, from Latin trāiectus, past participle of trāicere ('to throw across'), from trāns ('across') + iacere ('to throw').

trāiectus Latin trāns Latin iacere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# trajectory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /trəˈdʒɛktəri/
**IPA (UK):** /trəˈdʒɛktəri/

## Meanings
1. the curved path of a moving object; a course of development

## Examples
- The rocket's trajectory carried it neatly into a stable orbit.

## Synonyms
- path
- course
- arc
- route
- track
- flight
- curve

## Related Forms
- trajectile
- project
- eject
- inject

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: trāiectus
- Root: trāns
- Root: iacere

## Etymology
From New Latin trajectoria, from Latin trāiectus, past participle of trāicere ('to throw across'), from trāns ('across') + iacere ('to throw').

## AI Etymology
Trajectory is from New Latin trajectoria, from Latin trāiectus, past participle of trāicere ('to throw across'), from trāns ('across') + iacere ('to throw'). Important recorded forms include trāiectus (Latin), trāns (Latin), and iacere (Latin). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers the curved path of a moving object; a course of development. The wider family includes related words such as trajectile, project, eject, and inject.

## Topics
- Education & Learning
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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