circumscribe

English

WOTD – 10 August 2008

Various circumscribed quadrilaterals: note the circles.

Etymology

From Latin circumscrībō, from circum (“around”) + scrībō (“write”). By surface analysis, circum- +‎ scribe.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsɜː.kəm.skɹaɪb/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsɝ.kəm.skɹaɪb/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -aɪb

Verb

circumscribe (third-person singular simple present circumscribes, present participle circumscribing, simple past and past participle circumscribed)

1. To draw a line around; to encircle.
2. To limit narrowly; to restrict.
   • 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Asking for an Invitation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 29:

     "Well, I promise you to circumscribe her conquests as much as possible by extending my own," returned Henrietta. "It will be an easy task; for Miss Churchill does not do 'the honours of her eyes.' I often tell her her beauty is quite wasted upon her."

   • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:

     It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; perhaps to moralise on the oneness or fragility of the planet, or to see humanity for the small and circumscribed thing that it is; […].

3. (geometry) To draw the smallest circle or higher-dimensional sphere that has (a polyhedron, polygon, etc.) in its interior.

Derived terms

• circumscribability
• circumscribable
• circumscriber

 

Related terms

• circumscribed
• circumscript
• circumscription

Translations

to draw a line around; encircle

• Bulgarian: очертавам (bg) (očertavam), окръжавам (bg) (okrǎžavam)
• Czech: obmalovat, obkroužit
• Danish: omskrive
• Dutch: omcirkelen (nl)
• Estonian: ümbritsema (et)
• Finnish: ympyröidä (fi)
• French: circonscrire (fr)
• German: einkreisen (de)
• Hebrew: תחם (he) (takhám)
• Ido: cirkumskribar (io)
• Norwegian:

  Nynorsk: omskrive

• Polish: obwieść (pl), okrążyć (pl)
• Portuguese: circunscrever (pt), circular (pt)
• Romanian: circumscrie (ro)
• Romansch: ^{(please verify)} circumscriver
• Russian: опи́сывать (ru) impf (opísyvatʹ), описа́ть (ru) pf (opisátʹ)
• Spanish: circunscribir (es)
• Swedish: omskriva (sv)

to limit narrowly; restrict

• Bulgarian: ограничавам (bg) (ograničavam)
• Catalan: circumscriure (ca)
• Czech: ohraničit, omezit (cs)
• Dutch: beperken (nl), limiteren (nl)
• Estonian: kitsendama
• Finnish: rajoittaa (fi)
• French: circonscrire (fr)
• German: eingrenzen (de)
• Hebrew: הגביל (higbíl)
• Polish: ograniczyć (pl)
• Portuguese: circunscrever (pt), restringir (pt), delimitar (pt)
• Russian: ограни́чивать (ru) impf (ograníčivatʹ), ограни́чить (ru) pf (ograníčitʹ)
• Spanish: circunscribir (es)
• Swedish: begränsa (sv), kringskära, kringgärda (sv)

to draw a circle, sphere, or higher-dimensional ball

• Bulgarian: описвам (bg) (opisvam)
• Catalan: circumscriure (ca)
• Czech: opsat (cs)
• Estonian: piiritlema
• Finnish: piirtää ympäri, piirtää ympyrä monikulmion kärkien kautta
• French: circonscrire (fr)
• Polish: opisywać (pl) impf, opisać (pl) pf
• Portuguese: circunscrever (pt)
• Russian: оче́рчивать (ru) impf (očérčivatʹ), очерти́ть (ru) pf (očertítʹ), опи́сывать (ru) impf (opísyvatʹ), описа́ть (ru) pf (opisátʹ)

Latin

Verb

circumscrībe

1. second-person singular present active imperative of circumscrībō