circumscription

Borrowed from Latin circumscrīptiō.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsɜː.kəmˈskɹɪp.ʃən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌsɝ.kəmˈskɹɪp.ʃən/

• Audio (Southern England):

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circumscription (countable and uncountable, plural circumscriptions)

1. The act of circumscribing or the quality of being circumscribed.
2. Anything that circumscribes or a circumscribed area.
3. (taxonomy) The definition of what does and does not belong to a given taxon, from a particular taxonomic viewpoint or taxonomic system.

   The circumscription in the APG system of the family Malvaceae includes the former families Bombacaceae, Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae.

4. An electoral district; used often in texts treating electoral systems in Romance countries.

• circumscribe