Make Your Point: ITINERARY

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pronounce ITINERARY:

eye TIN uh rare ee

connect this word to others:

As we explore the lovely word itinerary, see if you can recall a closely related word:

When a career or a lifestyle involves moving from place to place instead of staying in one permanent home, we refer to it as itin_____.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "itinerary" comes from the Latin itinerarium, meaning "a road book, or a description of a route or a journey." Itinerarium traces further back to iter or itineris, meaning "a journey," and even further back to ire, "to go."

We've used "itinerary" since the 1400s in English. Today it can mean "a guide book for traveling" or "a description of a route or journey," but much more often it means "someone's specific written travel plan: a list of where they'll go, how they'll get there, where they'll stay, and (maybe) what they'll do."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "Here's a copy of our itinerary;" "He saves all of his itineraries."

Other forms:

The plural noun is "itineraries."

In older texts, you might spot "itinerary" used as an adjective, meaning "having to do with a route or a journey." That's rare today, though.

how to use it:

To strike a tone that's formal and precise, pick the common word "itinerary" to refer to your travel route, or to your list of places to go and things to do. This word helps you sound official, prepared, and organized.

Talk about someone's itinerary, or about people following their itineraries, or about activities, hotels, flights, and so on that are listed or printed on someone's itinerary. "What's on our itinerary for today?" "Here's my itinerary for my week in Europe." "She's updating her itinerary to stay longer in our city."

Because the word sounds so serious, it's perfect for humor. "According to my itinerary, I'll be very busy this afternoon, napping."

People rarely use "itinerary" in a figurative sense, which I think is why you should do it: you'll stand out! You could talk about the experiences on your life's itinerary, a lovely alternative to the harsh phrase "bucket list." Or you could talk about the stops on a story's itinerary, or about a relationship's itinerary: all the "places" it seemed to travel.

examples:

"I've had visitors from all over, but Alisha's friend was the first to arrive with an itinerary, a thick bundle of brochures and schedules she kept in a nylon pouch strapped around her waist."
— David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day, 2000

"If they did not turn up on Monday at the latest we would go on ahead up to Burguete in the mountains, to start fishing. There was a bus to Burguete. I wrote out an itinerary so they could follow us."
— Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises, 1926

has this page helped you understand "itinerary"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "itinerary" without saying "travel plan" or "list of things to do on a trip."

try it out:

Think back to a trip you've taken that was particularly happy or frustrating. If you could go back in time and tweak any item on your itinerary, what would it be, and why?

If you haven't been able to travel, then imagine you have a week (and a budget) to go anywhere you want to, and talk about your dream itinerary.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "It Sounds Wiser in Latin."

Longtime readers will recognize this game. It's back, with fresh new (okay, mostly ancient) Latin idioms!

Try matching a handful of Latin phrases to their English translations. If you need some clues, I'll provide them in the form of definitions of related English words. For example, the clue "Something anguine reminds you of a snake" could help you determine that "Latet anguis in herba" means "A snake hides in the grass."

You can see the answers by scrolling to the bottom of the issue.

Try these today:

1. Hodie mihi, cras tibi.
2. Hostium munera, non munera.
3. Imperare sibi maximum imperium est.
4. In iudicando criminosa est celeritas.
5. Multum clamoris, parum lanae.

A. Gifts of enemies are no gifts.
B. Great cry and little wool. (Much ado about nothing.)
C. Hasty judgments are criminal.
D. To rule yourself is the ultimate power.
E. What's to me today, tomorrow is to you. (What goes around comes around.)

To peek at the clues, follow the links:

1. To remunerate someone is literally...
2. Something imperial is...
3. A multum in parvo is...

review this word:

1. If you have no itinerary, you're probably

A. listening to your gut.
B. playing your trip by ear.
C. inventing the song as you play it.

2. Because an itinerary is often _____, we talk about plans and events that are _____ it.

A. a location .. at
B. a document .. on
C. a situation .. in

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.