circumscription

[sur-kuh m-skrip-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR circumscription ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

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

Related formscir·cum·scrip·tive, adjectivecir·cum·scrip·tive·ly, adverbnon·cir·cum·scrip·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for circumscription

limitation, fetter, constraint, restraint, trammel, confinement, curb, limit, check, curbing

Examples from the Web for circumscription

Historical Examples of circumscription

Every passer-by might note the limit and circumscription dividing the new place from the ancient seat of the lords of the manor.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXVI. October, 1843. Vol. LIV.
Various
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. II
Thomas De Quincey
He was meditating rather sadly upon the circumscription of human fame.
The Passionate Elopement
Compton Mackenzie
They were sensible that this province admitted not of any exact boundary or circumscription.
The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part D.
David Hume
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

British Dictionary definitions for circumscription

circumscription

noun

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

Derived Formscircumscriptive, adjectivecircumscriptively, adverb

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

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.