circum- 
fix of Latin origin, meaning 'round about,' 'in 
a circle,' ' on all sides ': frequent in compounds 
taken from the Latin, or formed in English or 
other modern tongues. Many such compounds 
are merely occasional. Only the principal ones 
are entered in this dictionary. 
circumaggerationt (ser-kum-aj-e-ra'shon), n. 
[< L. as if *circum<iggcratio(n-}, < circumag- 
gerare, pp. eircuni<iggeratus, heap up around, 
< eireum, around, + aggerare, heap, < agger, 
heap : see agger.'] A heaping up round about. 
circumagitate (ser-kum-aj'i-tat), v. t. [< eir- 
eum- + agitate.] To agitate or move about on 
all sides or in all directions. [Rare.] 
God hath . . . given to every one of his appointed of- 
ficers a portion of the fiery matter to circumayitate and 
roll. Jer. Taylor, Sermons, iii. 177 (Ord MS.). 
circumagitation (ser-kum-aj-i-ta'shon), . [< 
circumauitate : see -ation.] The act of circum- 
agitating; the state or condition of being cir- 
cumagitated. [Rare.] 
A visible circumagritation of a white snowy substance. 
Gregory, Boon, of Nature, i. 139 (Ord MS.). 
circumambagious (ser"kum-am-ba'jus), a. [< 
L. eireum, around, + ambages : see ambage.] 
Indirect; not going straight to the point; 
roundabout. Southey. [Rare.] 
circumambiency (ser-kum-am'bi-en-si), n. [< 
circumambient : see -ency.~\ The state or qual- 
ity of being circumambient; the act of sur- 
rounding or encompassing. 
Ice receiveth its figure according unto . . . the circum- 
ambiency which conformeth it. 
SirT. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 1. 
circumambient (ser-kum-am'bi-ent), a. [< cir- 
cum- + ambient. Cf. It. cireumambiente.] Sur- 
rounding; encompassing; inclosing or being 
on all sides: specifically applied, in entom., to 
the pronotum when the anterior angles are 
elongated in curved processes which form a 
circle above the head, overlapping in front. 
The circumambient air. Howell, Letters, I. i. 28. 
The circumambient heaven. 
Armstrong, Art of Preserving Health, iii. 
circumambulate (ser-kum-am'bu-lat), v.; 
pret. and pp. circumambulated, p^r. circumam- 
bulating. [< LL. circiimambulatus, pp. of cir- 
cumambularc, walk around, < L. circum, around, 
+ ambitlare, walk : see ambulate.] I. intrants. 
To walk round or about. 
Persons that circumambulated with their box and nee- 
dles. Wood, A i hrMil' Oxon. 
H. trans. To go round ; search through. 
Why should he circumambulate the vocabulary for an- 
other couplet? Seward, Letters, I. 845. 
cir curnambulation (ser-kum-am-bu-la ' shon ) , 
n. [(circumambulate: see -atton.] The act of 
circumambulating or walking round or about. 
A perambulation and circumambiUation of the terra- 
queous Globe. Carlyle, Sartor Kesartus, p. 103. 
Passing into the mosque, he should repair to the " Black 
Stone," touch it with his right hand, kiss it, and commence 
his circumamltulation. It. F. Burton, El-Medinah, p. 407. 
circumambulator (ser-kum-am'bu-la-tor), n. 
[< circumambulate + -or.] One who circum- 
ambulates or walks about. 
Still he was determined to obtain the palm of being the 
first circumambulator of the earth. 
Jefferson, Correspondence, II. 162. 
circumanal (ser-kum-a'nal), a. [< L. circum, 
about, + anus, anus, + -?.] Situated about 
the anus ; periproctous. 
Circumarea (ser-kum-a're-a), TO. [< L. circum, 
about, around, + area, area.] In math., the 
area of a circumscribed circle. 
circumbendibus (ser-kum-ben'di-bus), n. [< 
L. circum, around, + E. bend*, jocularly treated 
as if it were Latin, and put in the form of a 
dative or ablative plural (case-suffix -i6*).] A 
roundabout way; a circumlocution. [Jocose.] 
The periphrasis, which the moderns call the circumben- 
dibus. Martinu* Scribterus. 
I then introduced them to the gibbet on Heavy-Tree 
Heath ; and from that, with a circumbendibus, I fairly 
lodged them in the horse-pond at the bottom of the gar- 
den. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, v. 
If you have no foundation of knowledge, or habit of 
thought, to work upon, what chance have you of persuad- 
ing a hungry man that a capitalist is not a thief " with a 
circumbendibus " 1 Huxley, Lay Sermons, p. 37. 
Circumcellion (ser-kum-sel'ion), n. ; pi. Circum- 
cellions, Circumcelliones (-ionz, -sel-i-o'nez). [= 
F. Circoncellion, < LL. Circumcellio(n-), < L. cir- 
cum, around, + cella, cell ; also called in ML. Cir- 
cellio(n-), Circillio(n-), as if directly < L. circel- 
lus, dim. of eirculus (> ML. Circulio), a circle: 
see circle and eirculus.'] 1. One of a party of 
Donatists in northern Africa, chiefly peasants, 
1010 
in the fourth and fifth centuries: so called be- 
cause they wandered about in bands from place 
to place. They persistently courted death, wantonly in- 
sulting pagans awl challenging all they met to kill tin-in. 
looking upon such a death as a martyrdom. They sup- 
ported themselves by plunder, and committed so many 
acts of violence, aggravated by their religious differences 
from the orthodox, that soldiery often had to be employed 
against them. They were not entirely extinct till about 
the close of the fifth century. 
If I take this ring with me, some of Heraclian's Circum - 
celliom will assuredly knock my brains out for the sake of 
it. Kingsley, Hypatia, viii. 
2. In the fourth and succeeding centuries, in 
various places, a vagabond monk, acknowledg- 
ing no regularly constituted ecclesiastical au- 
thority. 
circumcenter (ser'kum-sen"ter), n. [< L. cir- 
cum, about, around, + centrum, center.] In 
math., the center of a circumscribed circle. 
Thus, the circumcenter of a triangle is the cen- 
ter of the circle circumscribed about it. 
circumcentral (ser-kum-sen'tral); a. [As cir- 
cumcenter + -al.] In math.: (a) Situated about 
or directed toward a common center. (6) Re- 
lated to the center of a circumscribed circle. 
circumcidet (ser'kum-sid), v. t. [< ME. circum- 
ciden, -siden (Wyclif ), = Pr. circumcir = F. cir- 
concire = Sp. circuncidar = Pg. circumcidar = 
It. circonddere, < L. circumcidere : see circum- 
cise.] To circumcise. 
There was oure Lord circumcyded. 
Mandeoille, Travels, p. 86. 
circumcinctt, a. [< L. circumcinctus, pp. of cir- 
cumcingere, gird around, < circum, around, + 
cingere, gird.] Girt about. Coles, 1717. 
circumcircle (ser'kum-ser"kl), . [< L. circum, 
about, around, + eirculus, circle.] In math., 
a circumscribed circle. 
circumcise (ser'kum-siz), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
circumcised, ppr. circumcising. [< ME. circum- 
cisen, -sisen, < L. circumcisus, pp. of circumci- 
dere (> E. circumcide), cut around, cut off, < cir- 
cum, around, + cwdere, cut.] Literally, to cut 
round about; specifically, to perform the act 
or rite of circumcision on: as, to circumcise 
a child; also occasionally in Scripture, meta- 
phorically, to purify from sin. 
Kest askes [ashes] on thaire [fig-trees'} circumcised roote. 
PaUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 125. 
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the 
foreskins of your heart, ye men of Jndah and inhabitants 
of Jerusalem. Jer. iv. 4. 
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision 
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of 
the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Col. ii. 11. 
Circumcised (ser'kum-sizd), p. a. [Pp. of cir- 
cumcise, <>.] 1. Having been subjected to the 
rite or operation of circumcision ; by extension, 
Jewish. 2. In Uchenology, divided from the 
thallus by a distinct fissure : applied to an apo- 
thecium. 
circumciser (ser'kum-si-zer), n. One who per- 
forms circumcision. 
Having gained a competent skill and experience, they 
set up for circumciserg. 
L. Addison, State of the Jews, p. 61. 
circumcision (ser-kum-sizh'ou), . [< ME. cir- 
cumcisioun, -cisiun, -sicion = F. circoncision = 
Pr. circumcisio = Sp. circuncision = Pg. circum- 
cisao = It. circoncisione, < LL. circumcisio(n-), 
< L. circumcidere: see circumcise.] 1. The act 
of circumcising, or cutting off the foreskin or 
prepuce of males, or the performance of an anal- 
ogous operation on females, as a religious rite, 
or in accordance with a custom founded on be- 
lief in the prophylactic value of the operation. 
The circumcision of males is recorded in the Old Testa- 
ment as divinely enjoined on Abraham and his descen- 
dants, and is required by the Mosaic law. It is still prac- 
tised among the Jews, the Christians of Abyssinia, the 
Mohammedans, and a number of semi-barbarous tribes. 
A race . . . 
Like to themselves, distinguishable scarce 
From Gentiles, but by circumcision vain. 
Milton, P. R., lii.,425. 
2. As metaphorically used in Scripture, spiri- 
tual purification. 
He is a Jew, which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is 
that of theheart, in the spirit, and not in the letter ; whose 
praise is not of men, but of God. Kora. ii. 29. 
3. Eccles., in the Roman Catholic, Greek, and 
Anglican churches, a festival observed on the 
octave of Christmas day (that is, the first day 
of January), in honor of the circumcision of 
Christ The circumcision, in the Scriptures : (a) The 
Hebrew nation. 
They that were of the circumcision contended with him 
[Peter], Acts xi. 2. 
(6) Those spiritually purified and elevated. 
We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, 
. . . and have no confidence in the flesh. Phil. iii. 3. 
circumfer 
circumclusiont (ser-kum-klo'zhon), n. [< L. as 
if *cireiiiiielHsii>()t-), ( circumcludcre, pp. cireum- 
clusus, inclose on all sides, < circum, around, + 
claudere, cluderc, close : see close 1 .] The act of 
inclosing on all sides. 
circumcone (ser'kum-kon), n. [< L. circum, 
about, around, + conus, a cone.] In math., a 
surface, the locus of tangents through a fixed 
point to a given surface. The locus is said to 
be a circumcone of the latter surface. 
circumconic (ser-kum-kon'ik), n. [< circum- + 
conic.] In math., a circumscribing conic. 
circumcubic (ser-kum-ku'bik), n. [< circum- + 
cubic.] In math., a circumscribing cubic. 
circumcursationt (ser"kum-ker-sa'shon), . 
[< L. as if *circumcursatio(n-), < circumciirsare, 
pp. circumcursatHS, run about, < circum, about, 
+ cursare, freq. of currere, pp. eursitx, run : see 
course.] 1. The act of running about. 2. 
Rambling language. [Rare.] 
The address . . . was but a factious circumcursation. 
Barrow, The Pope's Supremacy. 
circumdatet, ' * [< L- circumdatus, pp. of 
circumdare, put around, surround, < eireum, 
around, + dare, put : see date 1 .] To compass 
about. Coles, 1717. 
circumdatet, . [= It. circondato, < L. circum- 
datus, pp. : see the verb.] Surrounded. 
O pleasaunt olyue with grace circundate! 
O lemyng lawinpe, in light passyng nature ! 
How greately is thy name gloriflcate ! 
Political J'oems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 82. 
circumdenudation (ser-kum-de-nu-da'shon), 
. [< circum- + denudation.] Ingeol., erosion 
of such a character that isolated hills are left 
as the result of the denuding or erosive action. 
Such eminences usually owe their origin to the fact that 
the material of which they are composed is harder and 
better able to withstand the action of the weather than 
that of the strata by which they were originally surround- 
ed. [Little used.] 
circumduce (ser-kum-dus'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 
circumduced, ppr. circumducing. [< L. circum- 
ducere: see circumduct.] In Scots law, same 
as circumduct, 4. 
Circumduct (ser-kum-dukf), v. t. [< L. cir- 
cumductus, pp. of circumditcere, lead around, < 
circum, around, + ducere, lead: see duct.] 1. 
To lead around or about. Specifically 2. In 
anat., to move (a limb) around an imaginary 
axis in such manner that it describes a conical 
figure, the distal extremity moving in a circle 
while the proximal extremity is fixed. 
A limb is ... circumducted when it is made to describe 
a conical surface by rotation round an imaginary axis. 
Uitxley and Youmans, Physiol., 216. 
3. In old Eng, law, to contravene; nullify. 
Ayliffe. 4. In Scots law, to declare (the term 
for leading a proof) elapsed : as, the judge cir- 
cumducttd the term. Also circumduce. 
circumduction (ser-kum-duk'shon), . [= F. 
circondtiction, now circumdtiction, < L. circum- 
ductio(n-), < circumducere, lead around: see cir- 
cumduct.] 1 . A leading about. [Rare.] 
By long circumduction perhaps any truth may be de- 
rived from any other truth. Hooker. 
2. In anat., the act of circumducting a limb. 
See circumduct, 2. 3. In old Eng. law, an an- 
nulling; cancelation. Ayliffe Circumduction 
Of the term, in Scots law, the sentence of a judge, de- 
claring the time elapsed for leading a proof or doing some 
other judicial act, and precluding the party from bringing 
forward any further evidence. 
circumductory (ser-kum-duk'to-ri), a. [< cir- 
cumduct + -ory.] Of or pertaining to circum- 
duction: as, circumductory movements of the 
arm. 
circumesophageal (ser-kum-e-so-fa'je-al), a. 
[< L. circum, around, + NL. oesophagus, esopha- 
gus, + -al.] Surrounding the esophagus. Also 
spelled circumaisophageal. 
The circum-osmphageal commissures prove that the ven- 
tral ganglia have become more dorsal in position. 
Gegeiibaur, Comp. Anat. (trans.), p. 349. 
Circumesophageal nerves, those nerves which sur- 
round the gullet in many invertebrates, entering into the 
composition of the esophageal ring. Circumesopha- 
geal plate, in holothurians, as the genus Si/najita, one of 
the numerous calcareous pieces which form a hard ring 
around the gullet, into some of which the longitudinal 
muscles of the perisome are inserted, and through notches 
or perforations of which pass the ambulacra! nerves from 
the circnmesophageal ring. See cut under Synapta. dr- 
cumesophageal ring, the nervous collar, composed of 
certain ganglia and their commissures, which surrounds 
the gullet of many invertebrates, as mollusks, arthropods, 
etc. Often called simply efrophageal ring. 
circumfert (ser-kum-fer'), r. t. [< L. circum- 
ferre, bear around : see circumferent.] To limit; 
keep within bounds. 
In philosophy, the contemplations of man do either 
penetrate unto God, or are circumferred to nature, or are 
reflected or reverted upon himself. Bacon. 
