verb (used with object), circumscribed, circumscribing.
1.
to draw a line around; encircle:
to circumscribe a city on a map.
2.
to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly:
Her social activities are circumscribed by school regulations.
3.
to mark off; define; delimit:
to circumscribe the area of a science.
4.
Geometry.
to draw (a figure) around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible.
(of a figure) to enclose (another figure) in this manner.
Origin
1350-1400;Middle English < Latincircumscrībere, equivalent to circum-circum- + scrībere to write
Related forms
circumscribable, adjective
circumscriber, noun
noncircumscribed, adjective
uncircumscribable, adjective
uncircumscribed, adjective
Synonyms
2. restrict, restrain, check, hamper, hinder.
British Dictionary definitions for circumscribe
circumscribe
/ˌsɜːkəmˈskraɪb; ˈsɜːkəmˌskraɪb/
verb (transitive)
1.
to restrict within limits
2.
to mark or set the bounds of
3.
to draw a geometric construction around (another construction) so that the two are in contact but do not intersect Compare inscribe (sense 4)
4.
to draw a line round
Derived Forms
circumscribable, adjective circumscriber, noun
Word Origin
C15: from Latin circumscrībere, from circum- + scrībere to write
Word Origin and History for circumscribe
v.
late 14c., from Latin circumscribere "to make a circle around, encircle, draw a line around; limit, restrain, confine, set the boundaries of," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + scribere "write" (see script (n.)). Related: Circumscribed; circumscribing.
circumscribe in Science
circumscribe
(sûr'kəm-skrīb') To draw a figure around another figure so as to touch as many points as possible. A circle that is circumscribed around a triangle touches it at each of the triangle's three vertices.