periphery

[puh-rif-uh-ree]

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noun, plural pe·riph·er·ies.

the external boundary of any surface or area.

the external surface of a body.

the edge or outskirts, as of a city or urban area.

the relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of the subject in question: The preliminary research did not, of course, take me beyond the periphery of my problem.

Anatomy. the area in which nerves end.

Origin of periphery

1350–1400; < Late Latin peripherīa < Greek periphéreia circumference, literally, a bearing round, equivalent to peri- peri- + phér(ein) to bear¹ + -eia -y³; replacing Middle English periferie < Medieval Latin periferīa, variant spelling of Late Latin peripherīa

Synonyms for periphery

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR periphery ON THESAURUS.COM

1. circumference, perimeter.

Antonyms for periphery

1, 2. center.

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

Related Words for periphery

perimeter, fringe, rim, brink, verge, ambit, circuit, covering, margin, circumference, skirt, outside, edge, brim, compass, hem, boundary, border

Examples from the Web for periphery

Contemporary Examples of periphery

He just walked around the periphery of the development and proceeded on.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours
Michael Daly
December 31, 2014
Another U.S. intelligence official said, “Boko Haram is really on the periphery of the al Qaeda universe.”
Boko Haram’s Bin Laden Connection
Eli Lake
May 11, 2014
The problem is, that periphery has now grown much closer thanks to the location of Sochi.
The Volgograd Bombings and the Return of Big Terror to Russia
Michael Weiss
January 2, 2014
Despite the hype over gentrification, urban economies—including that of New York—still underperform their periphery.
The Revolt Against Urban Gentry
Joel Kotkin
November 30, 2013
They are Kurds, Iraqis, Somalis, Turks, Bosnians, who live on the periphery of the city.
The Ugly Side of Sweden
Janine di Giovanni
July 17, 2013

Historical Examples of periphery

Even chiaroscuros, with their few sober tones, fell into this periphery.
John Baptist Jackson
Jacob Kainen
So the intervals will be equal in the directions both of the periphery and of the length.
Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius
So a circle is a figure: Because it is a plaine every way bounded with one periphery.
The Way To Geometry
Peter Ramus
If the angle in the periphery be equall to the angle in the center, it is double to it in base.
The Way To Geometry
Peter Ramus
Let the periphery of the section aoe, to be halfed or cut into two equall parts.
The Way To Geometry
Peter Ramus

British Dictionary definitions for periphery

periphery

noun plural -eries

the outermost boundary of an area

the outside surface of something

anatomy the surface or outermost part of the body or one of its organs or parts

Word Origin for periphery

C16: from Late Latin peripherīa, from Greek, from peri- + pherein to bear

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 periphery

late 14c., "atmosphere around the earth," from Old French periferie (Modern French périphérie), from Medieval Latin periferia, from Late Latin peripheria, from Greek peripheria "circumference, outer surface, line round a circular body," literally "a carrying around," from peripheres "rounded, moving round, revolving," peripherein "carry or move round," from peri- "round about" (see peri-) + pherein "to carry" (see infer). Meaning "outside boundary of a surface" attested in English from 1570s; general sense of "boundary" is from 1660s.

periphery in Medicine

periphery

[pə-rĭf′ə-rē]

n.

The outermost part or region within a precise boundary; the part away from center.

The outer surface of a solid.