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periphery

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pe⋅riph⋅er⋅y

  [puh-rif-uh-ree]
Use periphery in a Sentence
–noun, plural -er⋅ies.
1. the external boundary of any surface or area.
2. the external surface of a body.
3. the edge or outskirts, as of a city or urban area.
4. the relatively minor, irrelevant, or superficial aspects of the subject in question: The preliminary research did not, of course, take me beyond the periphery of my problem.
5. Anatomy. the area in which nerves end.
Origin:
1350–1400; < LL peripherīa < Gk periphéreia circumference, lit., a bearing round, equiv. to peri- peri- + phér(ein) to bear 1 + -eia -y 3 ; r. ME periferie < ML periferīa, var. sp. of LL peripherīa

Synonyms:
1. circumference, perimeter.

Antonyms:
1, 2. center.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pe·riph·er·y   (pə-rĭf'ə-rē)   
n.   pl. pe·riph·er·ies

  1. A line that forms the boundary of an area; a perimeter. See Synonyms at circumference.

  2. The surface of a solid.

    1. The outermost part or region within a precise boundary.

    2. A zone constituting an imprecise boundary.


[Middle English periferie, from Medieval Latin periferia, from Late Latin peripherīa, from Greek periphereia, from peripherēs, carrying around : peri-, peri- + pherein, to carry; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.]
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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Word Origin & History

periphery 
1390, from O.Fr. periferie, from L.L. peripheria, from Gk. peripheria "circumference, outer surface," lit. "a carrying around," from peripheres "rounded, moving round, revolving," peripherein "carry or move round," from peri- "round about" + pherein "to carry" (see infer). Peripheral first recorded 1808.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pe·riph·ery
Pronunciation: p&-'rif-(&-)rE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -er·ies
1 : the outward bounds of something as distinguished from its internal regions or center
2 : the regions (as the sense organs, the muscles, or the viscera) in which nervesterminate
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

periphery pe·riph·er·y (pə-rĭf'ə-rē)
n.

  1. The outermost part or region within a precise boundary; the part away from center.

  2. The outer surface of a solid.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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