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environs - 6 dictionary results

en⋅vi⋅rons

  [en-vahy-ruhnz, -vahy-ernz, en-ver-uhnz, -vahy-ernz]
Use environs in a Sentence
–plural noun
1. the surrounding parts or districts, as of a city; outskirts; suburbs.
2. surrounding objects; surroundings; environment.
3. an area or space close by; vicinity.
Origin:
1655–65; < F (pl.); r. ME environ < OF, n. use of environ around; see environ

en⋅vi⋅ron

  [en-vahy-ruhn, -vahy-ern]
–verb (used with object)
to form a circle or ring round; surround; envelop: a house environed by pleasant grounds; to be environed by bad influences.
Origin:
1300–50; ME envirounen < OF environner, deriv. of environ around (en en- 1 + viron a circle; vir(er) to turn, veer + -on n. suffix)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To environs
en·vi·ron   (ěn-vī'rən, -vī'ərn)   
tr.v.   en·vi·roned, en·vi·ron·ing, en·vi·rons
To encircle; surround. See Synonyms at surround.

[Middle English envirounen, from Old French environner, from environ, round about : en-, in; see en-1 + viron, circle (from virer, to turn; see veer1).]
en·vi·rons   (ěn-vī'rənz, -vī'ərnz)   
pl.n.  
  1. A surrounding area, especially of a city.
  2. Surroundings; environment.

[French, from Old French, pl. of environ, circuit, from environ, round about; see environ.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Environs

En*vi"rons\ (?; 277), n. pl. [F.] The parts or places which surround another place, or lie in its neighborhood; suburbs; as, the environs of a city or town. --Chesterfield.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : environs
Spanish: alrededores, cercanías,
German: die Umgebung,
Japanese: 環境
More Translations »

environs 
1665, from Fr. environs, pl. of O.Fr. environ "compass, circuit," from environ (adv.) "around," from en- "in" + viron "circle, circuit," from virer "to turn."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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