environ
Syllables: en·vir·onUK/ɪnˈvaɪɹən//ɪnˈvaɪ(ə)ɹən/
environ adverb: in the neighbourhood; around.
Adverb
environ (not comparable)
- In the neighbourhood; around.
- Thaboũdant grace of the power deuyne / whiche doth illumyne yͤ world inuyron / Preſerue this audyẽce and cauſe them to inclyne / To charyte this is my petycyonc. 1519 (date written), [John Rastell], A New Iuterlude [sic] and a Mery of the Nature of the .IIII. Element[s...]; reprinted as John S. Farmer, editor, The Nature of the Four Elements (The Tudor...
- Lord Godfreyes eie three times enuiron goes, / To vievv vvhat count'nance euerie vvarriour beares, […]1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Second Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold]...
- Synonyms:
- round, round about
- Almost, nearly.
Verb
environ (third-person singular simple present environs, present participle environing, simple past and past participle environed)
- To encircle or surround (someone or something).
- For now I ſtand as one vpon a rocke, / Inuirond with a wildernes of ſea, / VVho markes the vvaxing tide, grovv vvaue by vvaue, / Expecting euer vvhen ſome enuious ſurge, / VVill in his briniſh bovvels ſvvallow him.c. 1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London: […] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold by Edward White & Thomas...
- Into that foreſt farre they thence him led, / VVhere vvas their dvvelling, in a pleaſant glade, / VVith mountaines rovvnd about enuironed, / And mightie vvoodes, vvhich did the valley ſhade, […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 39, page 473
- Synonyms:
- belay
- To encircle or surround (someone or something) so as to attack from all sides; to beset.
- The Erle in good haſte departed thence to Penbroke, whome incontinent Morgan Thomas, by king Edwards commaundement ſo ſtrongly beſieged, and ſo enuironed his Caſtell with a ditche and a trench, that he could not lightly flie or eſcape thence, […]1569, Richard Grafton, “Edwarde the Fourth”, in A Chronicle at Large and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande […], volume II, London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey...
- Philopœmen fearinge to be enuironned, and being deſirous to bring his men ſafe home againe, vvho moſt of loue had follovved him: beganne to marche avvay through narrovv buſhy places, him ſelfe being in the rerevvard, and turned oftentimes vpon his enemies, […]1579, Plutarke of Chæronea [i.e., Plutarch], “The Life of Philopœmen”, in Thomas North, transl., The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romaines, […], London: […] Richard Field, →OCLC, page 406
- To encircle or surround (a heraldic element such as a charge or escutcheon (shield)).
- Az[ure], an annulet environing a barrulet, betw[een] two bars and in chief a cross patty fitchy or.1874, John W[oody] Papworth, “1 ANNULET betw. or within … and in chief …”, in Alfred W. Morant, editor, An Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms Belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland...
- To cover, enclose, or envelop (someone or something).
- Farre off a hill and mountaine high they ſpide, / VVhoſe top the cloudes enuiron, cloath and hide; […]1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Fifteenth Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […]...
- Thus like a Nun, not like a Princeſſe borne, / Deſcended from the Royall Henries loynes: / Liue I inuironed in a houſe of ſtone, […]1602 (first performance), Thomas Dickers [i.e., Thomas Dekker], Iohn Webster [i.e., John Webster], The Famous History of Sir Thomas Wyat. […], London: […] E[dward] A[llde] for Thomas Archer, […]...
- Synonyms:
- belay
- Followed by from: to hide or shield (someone or something).
- Lonely her fate was, / Environed from sight / In the house where the gate was / Past finding at night.1922, Thomas Hardy, “Lonely Days”, in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, London: Macmillan and Co., […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 191
- Of a person: to be positioned or stationed around (someone or something) to attend to or protect them.
- [A]ll of them, upon an aſſociation made in the night, agreed to ſide vvith him, vvith aſſurance of ſafe conduct being gladly admitted unto them, environed he vvas vvith a multitude thronged together of vendible or ſale ſouldiors, […]1609, Ammianus Marcellinus, “[The XXVI. Booke.] Chapter VIII. Whiles Valens is Farre Removed by Occasion of Warre against the Gothes, Procopius Putting Forward His Intended Businesse, is by...
- O moſt high God, who keepeſt all things whether high or low, and environeſt every creature; ſancti†fie and bleſs† theſe Creatures of lime and ſand; Through Chriſt our Lord, Amen.1675, Joshua Stopford, “Altars”, in Pagano-papismus: Or, An Exact Parallel Between Rome-pagan, and Rome-Christian, in Their Doctrines and Ceremonies, London: […] A. Maxwell, for R. Clavel, […]...
- Of a situation or state of affairs, especially danger or trouble: to happen to and affect (someone or something).
- Ay me! what perils do environ / The Man that meddles with cold Iron!1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto III.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678...
- [S]he knew not one person to whose protection she could have recourse, from the inexpressible woes that environed her: […]1753, [Tobias Smollett], “Monimia’s Honour is Protected by the Interposition of Heaven”, in The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom. […], volume II, London: […] W. Johnston, […], →OCLC, page 100
- To amount to or encompass (a space).
- Tendaia (vvhich firſt obtained the Philippine title) enuironeth a hundred and ſixtie leagues, from tvvelue to fifteene degrees of latitude: the people Idolatrous, abounding vvith Pepper, Ginger, Gold, and Mynes.1614, Samuel Purchas, “[Asia.] Of the Philippina’s.”, in Purchas His Pilgrimage. Or Relations of the World and the Religions Observed in All Ages and Places Discouered, from the Creation vnto this...
- To travel completely around (a place or thing); to circumnavigate.
Noun
environ (plural environs)
- A surrounding area or place (especially of an urban settlement); an environment.
- Naples and its environs
- I got up to yᵉ Towre, whence we had a prospect towards Duresme, and could see Rippon, part of Lancashire, the famous and fatal Marston Moore, yᵉ Spaws of Knaresborough, and all the environs of that admirable country.1654 August 26 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 17 August 1654]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume...
environ meaning in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and Arabic
environ in Hindi
- surrounding area or place
- उपनगर upangar
environ in Bengali
- তৎসংশ্লিষ্ট নির্দিষ্ট ধারণা, বিষয়, বস্তু, প্রকাশ
environ in Malayalam
- encircle, surround, enclose
- ചൂഴുക, ചുഴലം ചെയ്ക, വലയം ചെയ്ക, പരിവേഷ്ടിക്കുക, ഉള്ളടക്കംചെയ്യുക, വലയിതമാക്കുക
environ in Arabic
- to encircle or surround (someone or something) — see also encircle, surround
- اِكْتَنَفَ iktanafa
Examples of environ in a sentence
- There is another village called Finland, Fingland and Fennland, which is almost environned with a moss and fenny ground.c. 1610 (date written), John Denton, “Burgh Barony”, in R[ichard] S[aul] Ferguson, editor, An Accompt of the Most Considerable Estates and...
- I did but prompt the age to quit their cloggs / By the knovvn rules of antient libertie, / When ſtrait a barbarous noiſe environs me / Of Ovvles and Cuckoes, Aſſes, Apes and Doggs.1673, John Milton, “[Sonnet] XII. On the Same [Tetrachordon].”, in Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions, London: […] Tho[mas] Dring […]...
- We bless thee for the material world, wherewith thou environest us beneath and about and overhead.1858 May 23, Theodore Parker, “[Prayer] XXX”, in Prayers, Boston, Mass.: Walker, Wise, and Company, published 1862, →OCLC, page 148:
- Where slavery wields her scourge of iron, / Red with mankind's unheeded gore, / And war's mad fiends environ, / Mingling with shrieks a drunken roar, […]1813, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Notes. IV. Page 54. Falsehood and Vice: A Dialogue.”, in Queen Mab; […], London: […] P. B. Shelley, […]...
Synonyms of environ
Forms of environ
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | environs |
| present participle | environing |
| past participle | environed |
| past | environed |
| first-person singular past (archaic) | environned |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | environest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | environedst |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | environned |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | environeth |
| third-person singular past (archaic) | environned |
| plural past (archaic) | environned |
| past subjunctive (archaic) | environned |
| past participle (archaic) | environned |
| Noun | |
| plural | environs |
Origin of environ
From Middle English enviroun (“round about in a circle or ring; all around”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman enviroun, environ [and other forms], and Middle French enviroun, environ [and other forms], from Old French environ (“around, surrounding; about, approximately, roughly”) (modern French environ), from en- (prefix meaning ‘in; into’) + viron (“circuit; circumference, compass; country round about”) (though first attested later) (from virer (“to bear, turn, veer”) (either from Latin gȳrō (“to turn in a circle, rotate; to circle, revolve around”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve; an arch, vault”)), or from Latin vibrō (“to hurl, launch; shake; to tremble, vibrate”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyb-, *weyp- (“to shake; to tremble; to sway, swing; to rotate, turn, wind, wrap (around)”))) + -on (augmentative suffix)). Cognates * Catalan enviró, environ (both obsolete) * Occitan environ * Spanish environ (obsolete)
From Middle English envirounen, enviroun (“to surround in a circle or ring, or on the perimeter; to beset, besiege; to cover, enclose, envelop; to provide a setting or surrounding to; to move in a circle; to move around the perimeter; to go, move, or wander about (a place); to fill or pervade (a place); to run all the way through”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman envirouner [and other forms], Middle French environner, and Old French environner (“to arrange in a circle; to circumnavigate, travel around; to traverse, wander around; to encircle, encompass, surround”) [and other forms] (modern French environner), from environ (adverb) (see etymology 1) + -er (suffix forming verbs). Cognates * Catalan environar (obsolete) * Old French avironer, avironner (Middle French avironer, avironner, Anglo-Norman avironer, aviruner) * Spanish environar (obsolete)
From Late Middle English invyroun, Middle English enuyroun, enuyrown, from Anglo-Norman enviroun, environ, envirun, and Middle French environ (“circumference; surroundings; (in the plural) boundaries, frontiers”) (chiefly in the plural) (modern French environ), a noun use of Old French environ (adverb): see etymology 1.
Words formed from environ
Words that rhyme with environ
Questions about environ
- What does environ mean?
- Environ means in the neighbourhood; around.
- What is environ in Hindi?
- Environ in Hindi is उपनगर (upangar). See Environ meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use environ in a sentence?
- There is another village called Finland, Fingland and Fennland, which is almost environned with a moss and fenny ground.
- What part of speech is environ?
- Environ can be an adverb, a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce environ?
- Environ is pronounced /ɪnˈvaɪɹən/ (UK).
Words near environ in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: environ (page history and authors); environ (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); environ (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-environ.ogg.
Cite this entry: “environ.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/environ. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.