cir·cum·scribe [ súrkəm skrb ](past and past participlecir·cum·scribed, present participlecir·cum·scrib·ing, 3rd person present singularcir·cum·scribes)
verb
Definition:
1. restrict: to limit the power of something or somebody to act independently
(
formal
)
(
often passive
)
2. enclose within geometric shape: to draw one geometric figure around another so that they touch at every corner vertex of the enclosed figure or at every side of the enclosing figure without cutting across each other
[14th century. < Latin circumscribere "write around" < scribere "write"]
