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Added 8 October 2026

circumscribe

/ˈsɜː.kəm.skɹaɪb/ verb

Latin root: circumscrībō Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about circumscribe at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Draw a line around.
He drew a circle around the points
Restrict or confine within limits.
I limit you to two visits to the pub a day
To draw a geometric figure around another figure so that the two are in contact but do not intersect.

Origin

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

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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