circumference 
circumference (ser-kum'fe-rens), . [< ME. 
circumference, < OF. ciri'oiij'i-ri-iin-, V. circonfe- 
renci: = Pr. OtreumfereMa = Sp. cirfiui/'i /< iifin 
= Pg. ciri-iuiij'i 'rriiri<i = It. < i iri-iiiifi-r<-ii;<i, < LL. 
circuntfercHtia, circumference, < L. rimimfr- 
ren(t-)s, surrounding: see eirrnmfcrnit. Cf. 
iM'ripncry.] 1. The line that bounds a circle ; 
by extension, the bounding lino of any regular 
plane curvilinear figure ; a periphery : as, the 
ciri'HHifi'reiice of a circle or an ellipse. The cir- 
cumference of a sphere is that of a great circle 
of the sphere. 
The bubble, being looked on by the light of the clouds 
reflected from it, seemed red at its aiipan-nt rirciiiufrr- 
ence. Xrirhm, Optic ks. 
Hence 2. Loosely, any bounding line : as, the 
circumference of a city. 3. The space included 
in a circle ; anything circular in form. [Rare.] 
Ills ponderous shield . . . 
Behind him cast ; the broad rimiinference 
Hung on his shoulders like the n >. 
Mittnn, P. I,., i. 286. 
4f. A going about ; circumlocution. [Rare.] 
Come, we spend lime in a vain rti-rnnif- n>nce. 
li. JiHuon, Case is Altered, iv. 3. 
circumferencet (ser-kum'fe-rens), r. t. [< 
circumference, n.] To include in a circular or 
spherical space. 
Nor Is the vigour of tills great body included onely in 
itself, or circttinferenced by its surface. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., II. 2. 
circumferent (ser-kum'fe-rent), a. [< L. cir- 
cuiferen(t-)g, ppr. of circumfcrre, carry or 
move around, < circum, around, + ferre = Gr. 
${peiv = E. bciir^.] Surrounding; encircling; 
specifically, of or pertaining to a circumference. 
This is soft and pliant to your arm 
In a circumferent flexure. 
Chapman, Gentleman Usher, Iv. 1. 
The round year 
In her circumferent arms will fold us all. 
Hiddleton and Rowley, World Tost at Tennis, Ind. 
To bring out the general perfectness of the great curve 
and circumferent stateliness of the whole tree. 
Ittrxkin, Klein, of Drawing, p. 195. 
circumferential (ser-kum-fe-ren'shal). a. [= 
Sp. circunferencial = It. circonferenziat, < ML. 
'circumferentialis (in neut. circuniferciitiale, cir- 
cumference; cf. circumferentialiter, adv.), < LL. 
circumferentia, circumference : BOO circumfer- 
ence, n.] 1. Relating or pertaining to the cir- 
cumference ; situated in the circumference ; 
surrounding. 
In many Compositso and Umbellifera), and in some other 
plants, the circumferential flowers have their corollas 
much more developed than those of the centre. 
Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 129. 
The spaces between the rays are in great part filled up 
by the circumferential network. 
W. B. Carpenter, Micros., 502. 
A circumferential velocity of 24 feet per minute. 
Set. Amer., LIV. 22. 
2. Indirect; circuitous. 
He preferred death in a direct line before a circumfer- 
ential passage thereunto. Fuller, Worthies, III. 406. 
Circumferential cartilage. See cartilage. 
circumferentially (ser-kum-fe-ren'shal-i), adr. 
In a circumferential manner;" around,' in, or as 
regards the circumference. 
In some of the earlier patterns of Siemens' machines 
the cores of the drum are of wood, overspun with Iron 
wire circumferentially before receiving the longitudinal 
windings. S. P. Thompson, Dynamo-Elect. Mach., p. 134. 
Circumferentially corrugated wrought iron and steel 
tubes. London Engineer, Dec. 31, 1888. 
circumferentor (ser-kum-fe-ren'tor), n. [Ir- 
reg. < circumferent + -or.] " 1. An instrument 
used by surveyors for taking angles, it consists 
of a graduated brass circle and an index, all of one piece, 
and carrying a magnetic needle suspended above the cen- 
ter of the circle. The index being directed to an object, 
the angle which it makes with the magnetic meridian is 
noted. The index is then directed to the second object, 
and the angle it makes with the same meridian observed 
in like manner. The difference or sum (as the case may 
be) of the two observed angles gives the angle between the 
two objects. Brands and Cox. Also called circumoentor 
and land-compass. 
2. A device for measuring the length of the 
tire of a wheel, consisting of a wheel of known 
circumference, which is rolled over the tire. 
circumflantt (ser'kum-flant), a. [< L. circum- 
flan(t-)s, ppr. of circuniflare, blow around, < 
circum, around, + flare = E. blow 1 .] Blowing 
around: as, "circumjlant air," Evelyn. 
circumflect (ser-kum-flekf), '. t. [= It. circon- 
flettere, < L. circumflectere, bend around, < cir- 
cum, around, + flectere, bend : see flexion.] 1. 
To bend around. 2. To place the circumflex 
accent on; circumflex. 
circumflection, circumflexion (ser-kum-flek'- 
shon). . [ = Pg. circum flexffo = It. circonfles- 
1011 
sinne, < LL. circitmflcrio(n-), < L. cirrumflcctrre, 
pp. cirrumflcrux, bend around: see circumfleet.] 
1. The act of circlimuecting. (n) The act of bend- 
ing into a curved form, or of bending around something 
else. (//) The act ot mal-kini; with the eiiviinille\ accent. 
2. A turn ing; a winding about ; a circuit y. 
To go by his power and omniscience, is a far quicker 
way than by the circumjttctioii* of Nature and second 
causes. t'rllhaiu. Resolve 
Circumflex (ser'kum-floks), a. and . [= G. 
Dan. S\v. i-in-HiiijIi .r !'. i-in-nnflexe = Pr. cir- 
cumflic = Hp. circunflijo = Pg. circumflexo = It. 
eirconjlesso, < L. circuifli-sux, bent round, pp. 
of circumflectere: see circumflect.] I, a. If. 
Moved or turned round. Swift. [Rare.] 2. 
'. 3. Pronounced with or indicating the 
tone called circumflex. 4. Marked with the 
accentual sign designating such pronunciation. 
Circumflex artery. () Of the ami, one of two branch- 
es, anterior and posterior, of the axillary artery, which 
wind round the neck of the humerus. (fc) Of the thigh, 
one of two brandies, anterior and posterior, of the pro- 
funda femoris artery, supplying muscles of the thigh. 
Circumflex iliac artery. See itiad. Circumflex mus- 
cle of the palate. Same ascircum/teriw, (a). Circum- 
flex nerve, the axillary nerve, a branch of the posterior 
cord of the brachial plexus, arising in common with the 
musculospiral nerve, supplying muscles and other parts 
about the shoulder. 
II. . 1. A certain accent or tone of voice 
in the utterance of a syllable, consisting in a 
higher or acute tone followed by a lower or 
grave tone within the same syllable. This tone 
~ belonging to certain syllables in Greek, in 
circumligation 
Even forma and substances /ife eirvun 
liy that transparent veil |pocy| with li^bt divine. 
ll'.,,;/M"j/7/<, 1'relude, v. 
Circumfusile (ser-kum-fu'zil), a. [< L. circum. 
around, + /.vi/i.v, fusilc. (.'I', i-imniifiixe.] Capa- 
ble of being poured or spread around. [Rare.] 
Artist divine, whose skilful bands infold 
The victim's horn with oYrj/,/, in.*,/.- yold. 
npt, Odyssey, iii. 541. 
circumfusion (ser-kuiu-fu'zhon), n. [< LL. 
circumfuiiio(ii-),<. L. circumfundere : see cirriim- 
The act of circumfusing, or pouring or 
ing around; the state of being poured 
around. Xirift. 
circumgestationt (ser'kum-jes-ta'shon), n. [< 
', carry around, < circum, around, 
', freq. of grrere, carry.] The act of 
carrying around or about. 
Cimtmgmtation of the eiicharist. 
Jer. Taylor, Diss. from Popery, i. 5 11. 
circumgyrate (ser-kum-ji'rat), .; pret. and 
pp.ciri-iimi/i/i-iilid, ppr. circumgyrating. [< ML. 
circumnyratus, pp. of circumgyrare, -girare, turn 
around: see i-irruini/i/ri; and cf. gyrate.] I. 
trans. To cause to roll or turn round. 
Vesselseurled, circum;7!/rat/, and complicated together. 
Jtaii, Works of Creation. 
II. trans. To roll or turn round; revolve, 
circumgyration (ser*kum-ji-ra'shgn), n. [< 
cirfHuigyriite: see -atioit.] The act of circum- 
gyrating; rolling or revolving. 
2. The sign used to mark a vowel so accented. 
It Is theoretically made by combining the sign for acute 
tone and that for grave, and has various forms, as ^, or 
~, or -^. 
3. The same mark ( ^, ~, ~) used as the sign 
of a long vowel in certain languages, and as a 
diacritical mark in phonetic notation. 4. In 
elocution, a combined rising and falling or fall- 
ing and rising inflection on a word or syllable, 
to express surprise, mockery, etc. 
Circumflex (ser'kum-fleks), v. t. [< circumflex, 
n.] 1. To pronounce with the accent or in- 
tonation called the circumflex. 2. To marker 
designate with the sign of such accentuation. 
circumflexion, n. See circumflection. 
circumflexus (ser-kum-flek'sus), n. [NL., < L. 
circumflexus, bent around: see circumflex, a.] 
In anat. : (a) The tensor palati, a muscle of the 
palate which serves to stretch it ; the circum- 
flex muscle of the palate, (b) The circumflex 
nerve (jvhich see, under circumflex). 
circumfluence (ser-kum'flo-ens), n. [< circum- 
fluent (see -ence); = Pg. drcumfluencia = It. 
~- -a n A flowing around on all sides; 
by 
circumgyratory (ser-kum-ji'ra-to-ri), a. [< 
circumgyrate + -ory.] Revolving; rotatory* 
turning over and over. 
. Tllat '""<**"*, however, had not failed, during his 
cvmfluere, flow around, < circum, around. + 
The deep circumfluent waves. Pope , Odyssey, i. 230. 
circumfluous (ser-kum'flo-us), a. [< L. cir- 
cumfluus, flowing around, < circwnfluere, flow 
around: see circumfluent.] Flowing around; 
encompassing as a fluid; circumfluent. 
Built on circuinjluoui waters calm. 
Milton, P. L, vii. 270. 
Love scooped this boat, and with soft motion 
Piloted it round the circumfluous ocean. 
Shelley, Witch of Atlas, xxxiii. 
circumforanean (ser'kum-fo-ra'ne-an), a. 
Same as circumforaneous. 
circumforaneous (ser'kum-fo-ra'ne-us), a. [= 
Pg. circumforaneo, < L. circumforaneus, about 
the market-place, < circum, about, + forum, 
market-place: see forum.] Going about, as 
from market-place to market-place; walking 
or wandering from house to house ; vagrant ; 
vagabond. 
Not borrowed from circumforaneout rogues and gipsies. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel. , p. 58. 
circumfulgent (ser-kum-ful'jent), a. [< L. cir- 
cumfulgen(t-)s, ppr. of circumfulgere (> It. cir- 
confulgere), shine around, < circum, around, + 
fulgere, shine: see fulgent.] Shining around; 
shining widely. 
circumfuse (ser-kum-fuz'), r. t. ; pret. and pp. 
circumfiised, ppr. circumfusing. [< L. circum- 
fusus, pp. of circumfundere, < circum, around, 
+ fundere, pour: see fuse.] To pour around; 
spread about ; suffuse. 
Appeared a face all circumfuted with light. 
/.'. Jonson, Masque of Blackness. 
Circumgyret (ser-kum-jir'), r. . [< ML. circum- 
gyrare, -girare, < L. circum, around, + gyrare, 
turn around: see gyre, r., and cf. circumgyrate.] 
To circumgyrate ; move circuitously. 
A sweet river, which after 20 miles cirmmgyring, or 
playing to and fro, discharges itself into the ocean. 
Sir T. Herbert, Travels, p. 43. 
Circumincession (ser'kum-in-sesh'on), n. [< 
ML. circumincessi(i(tt-), < L. circum, around, + 
incesms, a going, a walking, < incedere, pp. in- 
cessus, go unto or against, < in, unto, + cedere, 
go: see cession, and cf. incession.] In theol., 
the reciprocal existence in one another of the 
three persons in the Godhead. 
A callow student of theology confesses that he is fairly 
gravelled by the hypostatic arcumincexgion. 
F. Hall, Mod. Eng., p. 38. 
Circuminsular (ser-kum-in'su-lar), a. [< L. 
circum, around, -I- insula, island (see islet), + 
-ar s .] Surrounding an island ; specifically, in 
anat., surrounding the so-called island of Reil 
itio(n-), circuitio(n-), a going around: see cir- 
cuition.] A going about; the act of going 
round. Bailey. 
circumjacence, circumjacency (ser-kum-ja'- 
sens, -sen-si), n. [< circumjacent: see -ence, 
-ency.] 1. The state or condition of being cir- 
cumjacent. 2. That which is circumjacent. 
All the mongrel curs of the circumjacenciex yelp, yelp, 
yelp, at their heels. Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe, iv. 16. 
Circumjacent (ser-kum-ja'sent), a. [= F. cir- 
conjacent = Pg. circumjacehte, < L. circumja- 
cen(t-)s, ppr. of circumjacere, lie around, < cir- 
cum, around, + jacere, lie.] Lying about ; bor- 
dering on every side. 
We had an entire prospect of y whole citty, which lyes 
in shape of a theatre upon the sea brinke, with all the 
circumjacent islands. Evelyn, Diary, Jan. 31, 1645. 
The Euxine . . . made dreadful havoc on the circum- 
jacent coasts. 
A. Drummond, Travels through Germany, p. 132. 
A large extent of circumjacent country . . . was an- 
nexed to each city. Prcucott, Terd. and Isa., Int. 
Circumjovial (ser-kum-jo'vi-al), a. and n. [< 
L. circum, around, + Jovis, gen. of Jupiter (see 
Joce t jovial), + -al.] I. a. Surrounding or 
moving about the planet Jupiter. 
II. . One of the planet Jupiter's moons or 
satellites. Derham. 
circumligationt (ser'kum-li-ga'shon), n. [< L. 
as if *circutnligatio(n-), < circumligare, pp. cir- 
cumligatus, bind around, < circum, around, + 
ligare, bind.] 1. A binding or tying about. E. 
Phillips, 1706. 2. The bond with which any- 
thing is encompassed. Jolinson. 
