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perambulatory

perambulatory

9.9
An official walk to check land or property boundaries
  • adjective
  • /pəˈræmbjʊlətɔri/
  • Archaic
translation icon : perambulatorio
  • The surveyor conducted a perambulatory inspection of the property to mark its official boundaries.

Examples

  • During the perambulatory review, officials walked the land to assess the condition of the park.

  • The mayor's perambulatory visits to various neighborhoods helped address community concerns directly.

  • NAFTA includes perambulatory provisions recognizing the importance of sustainable development and encouraging the effective enforcement of environmental law.

    Academic text (1998)

Antonyms

1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Official

ceremonial
  • Formal
1 4.6
official
2.3
perambulatory
  • Archaic
9.9
informal
98 3.1
casual
194 2.8

Surface Forms

perambulatory positive

Morphology

perambulatory = perambulate (semi-transparent) = perambulate + ory

The adjective is transparently formed from the verb 'perambulate' + '-ory', but the specialised legal/inspection sense may not be obvious to learners who only know the basic sense 'to walk about'.

Etymology

Perambulatory comes from the Latin parts per- 'around' and ambulare 'to walk', so it originally meant to walk around to check land or borders. That's why a perambulatory review is an official walk to inspect boundaries.