circumscription
[sur-kuh m-skrip-shuh n]
- an act or instance of circumscribing.
- circumscribed state; limitation.
- anything that circumscribes, surrounds, or encloses; boundary.
- periphery; outline.
- a circumscribed area.
- a circular inscription on a coin, seal, etc.
- limitation of a meaning; definition.
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Origin of circumscription
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin circumscrīptiōn- (stem of circumscrīptiō), equivalent to circumscrīpt(us) (past participle of circumscrībere to circumscribe; see circum-, script) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for circumscription
Historical Examples
Every passer-by might note the limit and circumscription dividing the new place from the ancient seat of the lords of the manor.
It would not do to allege our human inability to conceive, or in imagination to draw, such a circumscription.
The Collected Writing of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. IIThomas De Quincey
He was meditating rather sadly upon the circumscription of human fame.
The Passionate ElopementCompton Mackenzie
They were sensible that this province admitted not of any exact boundary or circumscription.
One short distribution and circumscription of historical ages will soon place matters in a more hopeful aspect.
The Posthumous Works of Thomas De Quincey, Vol. II (2 vols)Thomas De Quincey
circumscription
- the act of circumscribing or the state of being circumscribed
- something that limits or encloses
- a circumscribed space
- an inscription around a coin or medal
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for circumscription
n.
1530s, from Latin circumscriptionem (nominative circumscriptio) "an encircling; fact of being held to set limits," noun of action from past participle stem of circumscribere (see circumscribe). Figurative sense of "setting limits of meaning" is earliest in English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper