Surround

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: sur=round

CIDE DICTIONARY

Surround, v. t. [OF. suronder to overflow, LL. superundare; fr. L. super over + undare to rise in waves, overflow, fr. unda wave. The English sense is due to the influence of E. round. See Super-, and Undulate, and cf. Abound.].

•  To inclose on all sides; to encompass; to environ.  [1913 Webster]
•  To lie or be on all sides of; to encircle; as, a wall surrounds the city.  [1913 Webster]

  "But could instead, and ever-during dark
  Surrounds me."  [1913 Webster]
•  To pass around; to travel about; to circumnavigate; as, to surround the world.  Fuller.  [1913 Webster]
•  To inclose, as a body of troops, between hostile forces, so as to cut off means of communication or retreat; to invest, as a city.  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- To encompass; encircle; environ; invest; hem in; fence about.

Surround, n. 

 A method of hunting some animals, as the buffalo, by surrounding a herd, and driving them over a precipice, into a ravine, etc.  Baird.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Surround, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 come or be all round; encircle, enclose.
2 (in passive; foll. by by, with) have on all sides (the house is surrounded by trees).
--n.
1 Brit. a a border or edging, esp. an area between the walls and carpet of a room. b a floor-covering for this.
2 an area or substance surrounding something.

Derivative

surrounding adj.

Etymology

ME = overflow, f. AF sur(o)under, OF s(o)uronder f. LL superundare (as SUPER-, undare flow f. unda wave)

THESAURUS

Surround

ambiance, ambience, atmosphere, begird, beleaguer, beset, besiege, blockade, bound, box, box in, cage, carry, case, chamber, circle, circle in, circuit, circuiteer, circulate, circumambulate, circummigrate, circumnavigate, circumscribe, circumvent, close, close in, close the circle, come full circle, compass, compass about, comprise, confine, consume, contain, coop, coop in, coop up, cordon, cordon off, corral, cover, crate, cycle, define, delimit, delimitate, demarcate, describe a circle, determine, devour, dispatch, dispose of, divide, down, eat up, edge, embay, embed, embosom, embox, embrace, encapsulate, encase, encircle, enclasp, enclave, enclose, encompass, enfold, enshrine, enshroud, envelop, environ, environment, environs, enwrap, extend, fence in, fix, flank, fringe, get away with, get down, gird, girdle, girdle the globe, go, go about, go around, go out, go round, go the round, gyre, harass, harry, hedge in, hem, hem in, hold, house in, impound, imprison, incarcerate, include, ingest, internalize, invest, involve, jail, keep within, kennel, lap, lay off, lay siege to, leaguer, lie, limit, loop, make a circuit, margin, mark boundaries, mark off, mark out, mark the periphery, mew, mew up, orbit, outline, pack, package, pen, pen in, pocket, put away, put in, quarantine, rail in, range, reach, reach out, revolve, rim, ring, rope off, round, run, separate, set the limit, setting, sheathe, shrine, shroud, shut in, shut up, skirt, smother, soften up, span, specify, spiral, spread, stable, stake out, straddle, stretch, stretch out, surroundings, swaddle, swallow, swathe, sweep, take down, take in, thrust out, tuck in, verge, wall in, wheel, wrap, wrap about, wrap up, yard, yard up

ROGET THESAURUS

Surround

Circumjacence

VB lie around, surround, beset, compass, encompass, environ, inclose, enclose, encircle, embrace, circumvent, lap, gird, belt, begird, engird, skirt, twine round, hem in.

Circumscription

VB circumscribe, limit, bound, confine, inclose, surround, compass about, imprison, hedge in, wall in, rail in, fence round, fence in, hedge round, picket, corral, enfold, bury, encase, incase, pack up, enshrine, inclasp, wrap up, embay, embosom, containment (inclusion).