Definition of: circumscription

(sûr′kəm·skrip′shən) noun
1. The act of circumscribing.
2. The state of being limited or bounded; limitation; restriction.
3. The line marking the external boundary of an object; surrounding margin or edge; periphery.
4. The space or district circumscribed.
5. Obs. Definition; description.
6. Obs. Something written around, as an inscription surrounding a coin. [<L circumscriptio, -onis <circumscribere. See CIRCUMSCRIBE.]
—cir′cum·scrip′tive adjective