Ambit

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæmbɪt/

Definitions

1. The scope or range within which something operates or has influence
2. The extent or boundary of an area in which power, control, or activity occurs
3. The limits or reach of authority, effect, or operation in a given context

Etymology: The most striking thing about "ambit" is how close it stayed to its literal sense. Latin "ambitus" meant a circuit or circumference, the line going all the way around something, and it could also name the ground around a building or the boundary of a parish. The Latin verb behind it, "ambire," means "to go around," built from "ambi-" ("on both sides") and "ire" ("to go"). So a word now used for the reach of a power or office began life as a description of walking round the edge of a place. English received the word in the Late Middle English period, borrowed directly from Latin, which makes it a doublet of "ambitus." The other half of that pair is "ambition," which came into English through French and carries the sense of striving for advancement. Both descend from the same Latin word, but they took different routes and split apart in meaning, so "ambit" kept the spatial idea of a boundary while "ambition" moved toward personal aspiration.

Synonyms: scope, extent, range, domain, field

Antonyms: limit, boundary