circumlition 
circumlition (ser-kum-lish'on), n. [< L. cir- 
cumlitio(n-), a smearing over, < circumlinere, pp. 
circumlitus, smear, stick, or spread all over, < 
rireum, around, + linere, smear: see liniment.'] 
In classical antiq., the practice and method of 
tinting as applied to the surface of marble stat- 
ues. See encaustic aiiUpoli/chrnmy. 
circumlittoral (ser-kum-lit'o-ral), a. [< L. 
circum, around, + litus (litor-)', shore, adj. lito- 
ralis (incorrectly littus, littoralis) : see littoral.] 
Adjacent to the shore-line; extending along 
the shore: specifically applied to one of the 
zones into which some naturalists have divided 
the sea-bottom according to the depth of water 
covering each. In regard to depth the circumlittoral 
is the fourth zone, reckoning from the deepest or abyssal. 
circumlocution (ser"kum-lo-ku'shon), n. [= 
OF. circonloquiition, F. circonlocution = Pr. cir- 
cumlocutio = Sp. circunlocucion = Pg. eircum- 
locuqao = It. circonlocuzione, < L. circumlocu- 
tio(n-) (tr. Gr. ireptypaaif, periphrasis), < (LL.) 
rimimloqui, speak roundabout, use circumlo- 
cution, (circum, around, + loqui, speak: see 
locution.] A roundabout way of speaking; an 
indirect mode of statement; particularly, a 
studied indirectness or evasiveness of lan- 
guage in speaking or writing. 
A maker [of verses] will seeme to vse circumlocution 
to set forth any thing pleasantly and flguratiuely, yet no 
lesse plaine to a ripe reader, then if it were named ex- 
presly. Futtenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 162. 
I much prefer the plain Billingsgate way of calling 
names, because it would save abundance of time, lost by 
circuinlocution. Swift. 
The circumlocutions which are substituted for technical 
phrases are clear, neat, and exact. Macaulay, Dryden. 
Circumlocution Office, a name used by Dickens In " Lit- 
tle Dorrit " as that of a department of government, to ridi- 
cule roundabout official methods and the resulting delays. 
The Circumlocution Office is there said to be the chief of 
"public departments, in the art of perceiving how not to 
do it." Hence the phrase (with or without capitals) Is 
often applied to official methods that seem indirect or un- 
necessarily slow. =Syn. Periphrasis, etc. See pleonasm. 
circumlocutional (ser"kum-lo-ku'shgn-a,l), a. 
[< circumlocution + -al.] Characterized by 
circumlocution; circuitous or indirect in lan- 
guage; periphrastic. 
circumlocutionary (ser"kum-16-ku'shon-a-ri), 
a. [< circumlocution + -ary^} Circumlocu- 
tional; roundabout; periphrastic. 
The fashionable rhetoric of philosophical liberalism is 
as incomprehensible to him [the Russian peasant] as the 
flowery circumlocutwnary style of an Oriental scribe 
would be to a keen city merchant. 
D. M. Wallace, Russia, p. BOO. 
Circumlocutionary euphemisms for things which, though 
natural, are rarely named. 
T. Inman, Symbolism, Int., p. xiii. 
Circumlocutionist (ser*kum-lo-ku'shgn-ist), n. 
[< circumlocution + -ist.] One who uses cir- 
cumlocution ; a roundabout, indirect, or eva- 
sive talker. Gentleman's Magazine. [Rare.] 
circumlocutionize(ser"kum-lo-ku'shon-iz),)!. i. 
[< circumlocution + -4ze.] To use circumlocu- 
tion. [Bare.] 
If we want to say, "It was clearly meant as an insult, 
but he didn't choose to relever it," we must circumlocu- 
tionize with four extra words "to take any notice of it," 
or at least with two "to take it up." 
N. and Q., 7th sen, I. 450. 
Circumlocutory (ser-kum-lok'u-to-ri), a. [As 
circumlocution) + -on/.] Exhibiting circum- 
locution ; periphrastic. 
A diffused and circumlocutory manner of expressing a 
common idea. Martinug Scriblerus. 
circummeridian (ser"kum-me-rid'i-an), a. [< 
circum- + meridian.'] Situated near or about 
the meridian ; relating to what is near the me- 
ridian. 
On the 23d [of October, 1871], circmn-meridian observa- 
tions of Jupiter were made. 
C. F. Hall, Polar Exp. (1876), p. 168. 
circummigration (ser"kum-ml-gra'shon), n. [< 
circum- + migration."] The act of wandering 
about; migration from place to place. [Bare.] 
Till in their ever-widening progress, and round of un- 
conscious circummigration, they distribute the seeds of 
harmony over half a parish. Lamb, Elia. 
Circummure (ser-kum-mur'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. 
circummured, ppr. circummuring. [< L. circum, 
around, + LL. murare, pp. muratus, wall: see 
mure, v. Cf . Pg. circummurado, pp.] To wall 
about; encompass with a wall. [Bare.] 
He hath a garden circummur'd with brick. 
Shak., M. for M., iv. 1. 
circumnavigable (ser-kum-nav'i-ga-bl), a. [< 
circumnavigate, after navigable. Cf . Pg. circum- 
navegavel.] Capable of being circumnavigated 
or sailed round: as, the earth is circumnavi- 
gable. 
1012 
circumnavigate (ser-kum-nav'i-gat), v. t. ; pret. 
and pp. circumnavigated, ppr. circumnavigating. 
[< L. circumnamgatus, pp. of circumnaeigare 
(> Pg. circummti-cgar), sail around, < circum, 
around, + nacigarc, sail : see navigate.'} To sail 
round; pass round by water: as, to circum- 
navigate the globe. 
Having circumnavigated the whole earth. 
Fuller, Worthies, Suffolk. 
circumnavigation (ser-kum-nav-i-ga'shon), n. 
[= F. circonnavigation, now circumnavigation, 
= Sp. circunnai'igacion = PJJ. cireunnuti'cgayao 
= It. circonnavigazione, < NL. "etrcuianaciga- 
tio(it-), < L. circumnavigare, circumnavigate: 
see circumnavigate.'] The act of sailing round 
the earth, or any body of land or water. 
circumnavigator (ser-kum-nav'i-ga-tor),. [= 
Pg. circumnaregador, < NL. "circumnavigator: 
see circumnavigate, and cf. navigator.] One 
who circumnavigates or sails round a body of 
land or water: generally applied to one who 
has sailed round the globe. 
Magellan's honour of being the first circumnavigator has 
been disputed in favour of the brave Sir Francis Drake. 
Guthrie, Gram, of Geog. 
circumnuclear (ser-kum-uu'kle-ar), a. [< L. 
circum, around, + nucleus, a nut, kernel (nu- 
cleus), + -ar 3 .] Surrounding a nucleus. 
The independent expulsion of a more or less consider- 
able ntass of circumnuclear protoplasm. 
Micros. Science, XXVI. 694. 
circumnutate (ser-kum-nu'tat), v. i. ', pret. and 
pp. circumnutati'd, ppr. circumnutating. [< L. 
circum, around, + nutatus, pp. of nutare, nod, 
freq. of "nuere, nod: see nutant.] To nod or 
turn about ; specifically, in bot., to move about 
in a more or less circular or elliptical path: 
said of the apex of a stem and of other organs 
of a plant. See circumnutation. 
It will be shown that apparently every growing part of 
every plant is continually circitmnutatinfi, though often 
on a small scale. Darwin, Movement in Plants, Int., p. 3. 
circumnutation (ser"kum-nu-ta'shon), n. [< 
circmnnutatc : see -ation.] A nodding or in- 
clining round about; specifically, in bot., the 
continuous motion of some part of a plant, as 
the apex of the stem, a tendril, etc., in which 
it describes irregular elliptical or circular fig- 
ures. While describing such figures, the apex often trav- 
els in a zigzag line, ur makes small subordinate loops or 
triangles of motion. 
On the whole, we may at present conclude that increased 
growth first on one side, and then on the other, is a sec- 
ondary effect, and that the increased turgescence of the 
cells, together with the extensibility of their walls, is the 
primary cause of the movement of circumnutation. 
Darwin, Movement in Plants, Int., p. 2. 
circumocular (ser-kum-ok'u-lar), a. [< L. 
circum, about, + oculus, eye', -f-' -ar 2 .] Sur- 
rounding the eye; orbital: as, circumocular 
prominence. 
circumcesophageal, a. See circumesophageal, 
circuinoral (ser-kum-6'ral), a. [< L. circum, 
around, + os (or-), moutn, + -a?.] Surround- 
ing the mouth ; situated about the mouth. 
In the Crinoida the circumoral suckers acquire the func- 
tion of tentacles. Oeyenbaur, Comp. Anat. (trans.), p. 200. 
Circumoral ambulacra! vessel. See ambulacral. 
circumparallelogram (ser - kum - par - a - lei ' o - 
gram), n. [< circum- + parallelogram.] In 
math., a circumscribed parallelogram. 
circumpentagon (ser-kum-pen'ta-gon), n. [< 
circum- + pentagon.] A circumscribed penta- 
gon. 
circumplexiont (ser-kum-plek'shon), n. [< L. 
circumplexus, pp. of circumplecterc, dep. circum- 
plecti, clasp around, < circum, around, + plec- 
tere, plecti, bend, turn : see plexus.] 1. A fold- 
ing round. 2. Something folded or twined 
about ; a cincture ; a girdle. 
It was after his fall that he [man] made himself a flg- 
leaf circumplexion. Feltham, Resolves, ii. 63. 
3. An entangling circumstance; a complica- 
tion ; an embarrassing surrounding. 
Circumplexions and environments. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 827. 
circumplication (ser"kum-pli-ka'shon), n. [< 
L. as if *circumplicatio(n-), < circumplicare, pp. 
circumplicatus, wind or fold around, < circum, 
around, + plicare, fold: see ply, and cf. compli- 
cation.'] A folding, rolling, or winding about; 
the state of being inwrapped. E. Phillips, 1706. 
[Bare.] 
circumpolar (ser-kum-po'lar), a. [< L. circum, 
around, + polus, pole : see pole%, polar.] Sur- 
rounding one of the poles of the earth or of the 
heavens: as, a circumpolar sea; circumpolar 
stars. 
circumscribed 
The moon to-morrow will be for twelve hours above the 
horizon, and so nearly nrcumpoiar afterward as to justify 
me in the attempt to reach the Esquimaux hunting-ground 
about Cape Alexander. Kane, Sec. Grinn. Exp., I. 448. 
Circumpolar star, a star near the pole ; a star which 
revolves round the pole without setting. 
circumpolygon (ser-kum-pol'i-gon), n. [< cir- 
cum- + polygon.] A circumscribed polygon. 
circumposition (ser"kum-po-zish'on), n. [< 
LL. circumpositio(n-), < L. 'circumjionere, pp. 
circumpositum, set or place around, < circum, 
around, + ponere, place: see position.] The 
act of placing round about ; the state of being 
so placed. 
When a plant is too high or its habit does not conve- 
niently admit of its being layered, it may often be increased 
by what is called circumpitsitwn, the soil being carried up 
to the branch operated on. Eiwyc. Brit., XII. 235, 
circumpressure (ser-kum-presh'ur). n. [< cir- 
CHHI- + pressure.] Pressure on all sides. [Bare.] 
circumradius (ser-kum-ra'di-us),.; pi. circum- 
radii (-i). [< circum- + radius.] In math., 
the radius of a circumscribed circle. 
circumrasiont (ser-kum-ra'zhpn), n. [< L. cir- 
cumrasio(n-), < circumradcre, "pp. circumrasus, 
scrape around, < circum, around, + radere, shave, 
scrape : see rase.] The act of shaving or par- 
ing round. Bailey. [Bare.] 
circumrenal (ser-kum-re'nal), a. [< L. circum, 
around, + ren (only in pi. rents), kidney, + -al: 
see reins and renal.] Situated near or lying 
about the kidneys ; perinephric. 
circumrotary (ser-kum-ro ta-ri), a. [< circum- 
+ rotary. Cf. circumrotate.f Turning, rolling, 
or whirling about. Also circumrotatory. 
circumrotate (ser-kum-ro'tat), v. i. [< L. cir- 
cumrotatus, pp. of circumrotare, turn round in 
a circle, < circum, around, + rotare, turn round: 
see rotate.] To revolve or rotate. 
circumrotation (ser'kum-ro-ta/shon), n. [< cir- 
cumrotate: see -ation.] 1. The act of rotating 
or revolving, as a wheel or a planet; circum- 
volution ; the state of being whirled round. 2. 
A single rotation of a rotating body. Johnson. 
circumrotatory (ser-kum-ro'ta-to-ri), a. Same 
as circumrotary. 
A great many tunes, by a variety of circumrotatory 
nourishes, put one in mind of a lark's descent to the 
ground. Shcngtone. 
circumsail (ser-kurn-sal'), v. t. [< circum- + 
sail.] To circumnavigate. [Bare.] 
Circumsailed the earth. 
Warner, Albion's England, xi. 83. 
circumscissile (ser-kum-sis'il), a. [< NL. 
eircumseissilis. < L. circumscissus, pp. of circum- 
scindere, cut about : 
see scissilc.] In bot., 
opening or divided 
by a transverse cir- 
cular line : applied 
to a mode of dehis- 
cence in some fruits, 
as in the pimpernel 
* 
henbane, and monkeypot, the fruit in such 
cases being called a pyxidium. 
circumscribable (ser-kum-skri'ba-bl), a. [< 
circumscribe + -able.] Capable of being cir- 
cumscribed. 
circumscribe (ser-kum-skrib'), v. t. ; pret. and 
pp. circumscribed, ppr. circumscribing. [< ME. 
circumscrive = F. circonscrirc = Sp. circunscri- 
bir= Pg. circumscrever = It. circonscrivere, < L. 
circumscribere, draw a line around, limit, < cir- 
cum, around, + scribere, write, draw : see scribe, 
script, etc., and cf. ascribe, describe, inscribe, pre- 
scribe, proscribe, subscribe, etc.] 1. To write 
or inscribe around. Ashmole. [Rare.] 2. To 
mark out certain bounds or limits for; inclose 
within certain limits ; limit ; bound ; confine ; 
restrain. 
Old Simeon did comprehend and circumscribe in his 
arms him that tilled all the world. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1836), I. 66. 
That mass of flesh that circumscribes me limits not my 
mind. Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, ii. 1L 
The sage . . . 
Has seen eternal order circumscribe 
And bound the motions of eternal change. 
Bryant, The Fountain. 
3. In geom., to draw around so as to touch at as 
many points as possible. A curve is said to be cir- 
cumscribed ;il>< nit a polygon when it passes through every 
vertex of the latter ; a multilateral figure is said to circum- 
scribe or be circumscribed about a curve when its every 
side is tangent to the curve. The term is also applied sim- 
ilarly to surfaces. Thus, a cone circumscribes a surface 
only if every side of it is tangent to that surface. 
circumscribed (ser-kum-skrlbd'),jp. a. [Pp. of 
circumscribe, v.] Inclosed within certain lim- 
