See circumvolation in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
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"ref": "1901, Zelia Nuttall, The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations, page 58:",
"text": "It has already been shown that, in the popular game of \"the flyers,\" a high pole surmounted by one man served as the pivot for the circumvolation of the four performers, who \"acted\" the \"flight of time.\"",
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"ref": "1845 March, C. W. Short, “Observations on the Botany of Illinois”, in The Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery, page 195:",
"text": "These insects, unlike all others of their kind I have ever seen, fall upon their prey without buzzing, circumvolation, or prelude of any sort: they dart with the rapidity of shot from the fowler's gun, and as soon as they have touched the animal on which they alight, seem already bedded in his skin, from which they are not to be dislodged but by main force and violence.",
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"ref": "1627 October 12, Charles Dalton, quoting Edward Cecil, Life and Times of General Sir Edward Cecil, published 1885, page 277:",
"text": "[N]everthelesse, to make the blockinge of it more easie, for there is no waie better to block upp a place then by approaching it soe nigh as may bee (especiallie, when an enemie is not expected that cann releive it by force), for the nigher you approche unto it, the narrower is the circumvolation, and then you blocke it upp more surer, with fewer menn, and lesse worke; then also, you take from the beseiged, the commoditie of water, and other thinges that lie without the Skonce, and then may you dismount their ordennance much better, beinge that in shootinge farr off you cannot shoote, either with that force or certaintie as shootinge nigh, wheare you shall not misse one shott.",
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"ref": "1790, John Gabriel Stedman, Narrative of Five Years Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, published 2015:",
"text": "In Consequence a Party of the Rangers was instantly Detached thither to Assist in Pursuing them &c And About the Same Time, the long Projected Cordon or Path of Circumvolation was also begun to be Cut by 700 Negro Slaves Around the Colony, […]",
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"ref": "1718, Edward Ward, The London-spy Compleat, page 259:",
"text": "When by her Unalterable Circumvolation, ſhe had ſupply'd the Defects and Weakneſs of the Liquor; and made moſt of the Company Drunk and Giddy with obſerving the Nimbleneſs of her Tail; which, according to the Knife Grinders Song, rand Round and around, and a-round-a, ſhe gave a Stamp with her Foot, like a Doe-Rabbit after Bucking, which, ſerved as a Period to her Dance, which, according to Cuſtom, was Rewarded with a Clap, […]",
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"ref": "1790, Bell's New Pantheon, page 140:",
"text": "It may be conjectured that the circumvolation of these moved the ether, and occasioned that whistling, the gentle pleasantness of which bore an adequate agreement with their well-timed motion.",
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"ref": "1838, Moses Aaron Richardson, Richardson’s Descriptive Companion through Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, […], page 298:",
"text": "Liverpool and Manchester, after several years evidence of the result, improved on the experiment by an increase of the speed to the rate of 30 miles in 40 minutes; and now, looking telescopically to the more distant consequences of such miraculous achievements as we have seen performed, and such infinite speculations as are now every where going on in these enterprises, imagination is encouraged to perceive in the end prodigies no less than the circumvolation of the earth by future travellers with meteor velocity.",
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"glosses": [
"Circulation; the act of moving around something."
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"ref": "1722, Thomas Woolston, Works, page 67:",
"text": "The most unhappy Circumstance in our Protestant Priesthood of this Church, that is obnoxious to Laughter, is our Tergiversation and Circumvolation with every Wind of Doctrine, as it must be confess'd that we can stand fast to no Point long.",
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"ref": "1864, James Augustus Saint John, Weighed in the Balance, page 168:",
"text": "Faber was of the true stamp to experience the extreme of agony and the extreme of bliss, to torture himself with suspicions, to thrust the spikes of doubt into his sinews and muscles, to plunge into the mysterious Gehenna of jealousy, and through this circumvolation of torture to scale the citadel of happiness.",
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"glosses": [
"Vacillation; the act of changing one's mind repeatedly."
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"(figurative) Vacillation; the act of changing one's mind repeatedly."
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"text": "It has already been shown that, in the popular game of \"the flyers,\" a high pole surmounted by one man served as the pivot for the circumvolation of the four performers, who \"acted\" the \"flight of time.\"",
"type": "quote"
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37,
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"text": "Favourable conditions permitted the \"circumvolation\" of the world in twenty-four hours. But flying had not become general and was still the exclusive privilege of the council and its supporters.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
103,
117
]
],
"ref": "1845 March, C. W. Short, “Observations on the Botany of Illinois”, in The Western Journal of Medicine and Surgery, page 195:",
"text": "These insects, unlike all others of their kind I have ever seen, fall upon their prey without buzzing, circumvolation, or prelude of any sort: they dart with the rapidity of shot from the fowler's gun, and as soon as they have touched the animal on which they alight, seem already bedded in his skin, from which they are not to be dislodged but by main force and violence.",
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"text": "[N]everthelesse, to make the blockinge of it more easie, for there is no waie better to block upp a place then by approaching it soe nigh as may bee (especiallie, when an enemie is not expected that cann releive it by force), for the nigher you approche unto it, the narrower is the circumvolation, and then you blocke it upp more surer, with fewer menn, and lesse worke; then also, you take from the beseiged, the commoditie of water, and other thinges that lie without the Skonce, and then may you dismount their ordennance much better, beinge that in shootinge farr off you cannot shoote, either with that force or certaintie as shootinge nigh, wheare you shall not misse one shott.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
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[
161,
175
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"text": "In Consequence a Party of the Rangers was instantly Detached thither to Assist in Pursuing them &c And About the Same Time, the long Projected Cordon or Path of Circumvolation was also begun to be Cut by 700 Negro Slaves Around the Colony, […]",
"type": "quote"
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"text": "When by her Unalterable Circumvolation, ſhe had ſupply'd the Defects and Weakneſs of the Liquor; and made moſt of the Company Drunk and Giddy with obſerving the Nimbleneſs of her Tail; which, according to the Knife Grinders Song, rand Round and around, and a-round-a, ſhe gave a Stamp with her Foot, like a Doe-Rabbit after Bucking, which, ſerved as a Period to her Dance, which, according to Cuſtom, was Rewarded with a Clap, […]",
"type": "quote"
},
{
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31,
45
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],
"ref": "1790, Bell's New Pantheon, page 140:",
"text": "It may be conjectured that the circumvolation of these moved the ether, and occasioned that whistling, the gentle pleasantness of which bore an adequate agreement with their well-timed motion.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
449,
463
]
],
"ref": "1838, Moses Aaron Richardson, Richardson’s Descriptive Companion through Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, […], page 298:",
"text": "Liverpool and Manchester, after several years evidence of the result, improved on the experiment by an increase of the speed to the rate of 30 miles in 40 minutes; and now, looking telescopically to the more distant consequences of such miraculous achievements as we have seen performed, and such infinite speculations as are now every where going on in these enterprises, imagination is encouraged to perceive in the end prodigies no less than the circumvolation of the earth by future travellers with meteor velocity.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Circulation; the act of moving around something."
],
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"text": "The most unhappy Circumstance in our Protestant Priesthood of this Church, that is obnoxious to Laughter, is our Tergiversation and Circumvolation with every Wind of Doctrine, as it must be confess'd that we can stand fast to no Point long.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
252,
266
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"ref": "1864, James Augustus Saint John, Weighed in the Balance, page 168:",
"text": "Faber was of the true stamp to experience the extreme of agony and the extreme of bliss, to torture himself with suspicions, to thrust the spikes of doubt into his sinews and muscles, to plunge into the mysterious Gehenna of jealousy, and through this circumvolation of torture to scale the citadel of happiness.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Vacillation; the act of changing one's mind repeatedly."
],
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"(figurative) Vacillation; the act of changing one's mind repeatedly."
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"word": "circumvolation"
}
Download raw JSONL data for circumvolation meaning in English (6.7kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-04-20 using wiktextract (813e02a and ea19a0a). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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