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perambulation

perambulation

9.9
An official walk around a place to show and record its borders
  • noun
  • /ˌpɛrəmˈbjuːleɪʃən/
  • Archaic
translation icon : 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.