Compassing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To completely encircle or include something while successfully reaching an objective through deliberate methods and creating a specific condition or occurrence by design
2. To enclose or wrap around an entity while accomplishing a particular aim through calculated actions and intentionally producing a desired result or situation
3. To surround or envelop an object while achieving a specific goal through purposeful strategies and creating an intended scenario or outcome

Etymology: "Compassing" is the present participle and gerund of "compass," used here as a verb meaning to surround something or bring about an outcome through careful planning. The base verb "compass" comes from Old French "compasser," meaning to arrange or measure out, and before that from Latin "compassare," to measure with steps, built from "com-" (together) and "passus" (a pace or step). The sense of walking or pacing a distance is the original root, which explains why the word could later mean both to go around something and to devise a scheme. The "-ing" ending is a simple English suffix that turns the verb into a participle or gerund, so the word's history lies mainly in the verb "compass," which entered English in Middle English. The sense of surrounding or encircling grew from the older idea of marking out a boundary by measuring around it, while the notion of contriving or achieving something grew from the sense of arranging or devising a plan. Both meanings trace back to that original image of stepping out a measured space.

Synonyms: surrounding, encompassing, encircling