Friday, October 9, 2015
Monday, June 1, 2015
Ambient, adj. and n
Pronunciation: /ˈæmbɪənt/
Etymology: < Latin ambientem present participle of ambīre to go about, < amb- on both sides, round, about + ī-re to go. Compare Italian ambientebefore 1600.
A. adj.
1. Turning round, revolving. Obs. rare.
2. Moving round, circling about (something). rare.
3. Lying round, surrounding, encircling, encompassing, environing.
4. esp. Surrounding as a fluid; circumfused.
5. Rounded like a solid body. rare.
6. Ambitious, aspiring. (A Latinism.) Obs. rare.
7. As an epithet of the air, often ignorantly put for ‘limpid,’ or otherwise misused.
1. Turning round, revolving. Obs. rare.
2. Moving round, circling about (something). rare.
3. Lying round, surrounding, encircling, encompassing, environing.
4. esp. Surrounding as a fluid; circumfused.
5. Rounded like a solid body. rare.
6. Ambitious, aspiring. (A Latinism.) Obs. rare.
7. As an epithet of the air, often ignorantly put for ‘limpid,’ or otherwise misused.
B. n. [The adj. used absol.]
1. A canvasser, suitor, or aspirant. Obs. rare.
2. An encompassing circle or sphere.
1. A canvasser, suitor, or aspirant. Obs. rare.
2. An encompassing circle or sphere.
3. Astrol. The ambient air or sky. (OED)
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