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perambulation

perambulation

9.9
An official walk around a place to show and record its borders
  • noun
  • /ˌpɛrəmˈbjuːleɪʃən/
  • Archaic
: perambulación
  • During the annual perambulation, the council members walked the borders to confirm the territory's limits.

Examples

  • Teacher and student would also take longer and more formal perambulations during which Claude would fill the Abbe's noterolls with observations on newly discovered phenomena.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Perambulation.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The perambulation of the manor was conducted to ensure that all boundaries were correctly marked and acknowledged.

  • As part of their duties, the officials undertook a perambulation to officially record the boundaries of the parish.

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

How Official

perambulation
  • Archaic
9.9
inspection
  • Formal
356 2.5
patrol
253 3.2
walk
758 1.0
stroll
92 1.2

Surface Forms

perambulation singular

Morphology

perambulation = perambulate (semi-transparent) = perambulate + ion

Formed from 'perambulate' + '-ion', but the sense 'official walk around boundaries' is a specialized/legal usage not obvious to most learners.

Etymology

Perambulation comes from the old Latin parts per- 'through' and ambulare 'to walk', the same root you see in amble. In earlier times officials would walk 'through' the edges of a parish or manor to check and write down the borders, which is why perambulation can mean an official walk around an area's boundaries.