circumsect

C3I1R1C3U1M3S1E1C3T1

verb

To cut around the circumference (of some part of an organ or structure).

Scrabble 18

Meanings

verbcircumsect (third-person singular simple present circumsects, present participle circumsecting, simple past and past participle circumsected)

present singular third person circumsects · participle present circumsecting · participle past circumsected · past circumsected

  1. transitivemedicineTo cut around the circumference (of some part of an organ or structure).

    The eye is circumsected near the margin of the iris, exposing the lens in the cup formed by the anterior half of the eye.

    1931, James Clyde Munch, Bioassays: a handbook of quantitative pharmacology
    2 more examples

    If the stimulated cortical zone is circumsected so that most of the pathways available for intracortical elaboration of the excitation are severed, conditioned reflexes still occur to the cortical conditional stimulus.

    1967, Landauer, Thomas K, Readings in physiological psychology; the bodily basis of behavior

    Finally, a special knife which can be rotated after insertion into the brain to circumsect a specific region completely has been devised and used with great advantage to disjoin the hypothalamus from the brain stem.

    1978, Finger, Stanley, Recovery from brain damage : research and theory

Origin

  1. Latincircumsectus
  2. Englishcircumsect

Borrowed from Latin circumsectus perfect passive participle of circumsecō (“to cut around”), from circum- (“around”) + secare (“to cut”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

circumsect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumsect

MLA

“circumsect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumsect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “circumsect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/circumsect.

Source: circumsect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.