circumsto

Latin

Etymology

From circum- +‎ stō.

Pronunciation

Verb

circumstō (present infinitive circumstāre, perfect active circumstetī); first conjugation, no supine stem

  1. to stand around, to surround or encircle, to occupy, to take possession of
  2. (figuratively) to encompass, to beset, to occupy, to take, to take possession of, to overcome
    • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.559–560:
      “At mē tum prīmum saevus circumstetit horror / Obstipuī….”
      “But then, [for] the first [time], savage horror overcame me: I was astounded….”
      (Aeneas is literally surrounded by death and destruction and figuratively begins to feel overwhelmed by concerns for the fate of his own family.)

Conjugation

References

  • circumsto”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • circumsto”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • circumsto in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.