circumscribe
UK /ˈsɜː.kəm.skɹaɪb/ · US /ˈsɝ.kəm.skɹaɪb/ verb
Forms circumscribes circumscribing circumscribed
- verb To draw a line around; to encircle.
- verb To limit narrowly; to restrict.
- verb (geometry) To draw the smallest circle or higher-dimensional sphere that has (a polyhedron, polygon, etc.) in its interior.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin circumscrībō, from circum (“around”) + scrībō (“write”). By surface analysis, circum- + scribe.
Webster’s 1913
- verb to write or engare around. [R.]
- verb To inclose within a certain limit; to hem in; to surround; to bound; to confine; to restrain.
Etymology [L. circumscribere, -scriptum; circum + scribere to write, draw. See Soribe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “circumscribe”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details