worldencircling

Worldencircling is a noun or adjective describing the action or result of encircling the globe. It can refer to physical voyages that complete a global loop or to symbolic concepts that span the entire planet. In geographic and historical contexts, worldencircling routes connect multiple continents along oceans and airways.

The term combines world and encircle into a compound; English normally uses a hyphen as world-encircling when modifying a noun, while worldencircling appears in some modern or coined usages. It is rarely used in formal dictionaries but appears in travel writing and speculative contexts.

Notable historical instance is circumnavigation (Ferdinand Magellan's expedition). In contemporary terms, aircraft and ships have completed multi-stop worldencircling journeys, and satellites create a form of worldencircling coverage. In technology, the concept describes networks and services designed to reach every part of the globe.

See also circumnavigation, geodesy, satellite communications, global networks, globalization.