Surrounders

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who enclose or encircle someone or something from all sides; individuals who hem in or trap others within a boundary; persons who form a perimeter around a location or target
2. Groups or people positioned around an object or person to encompass them completely; those who act to enclose or confine by forming a surrounding line; participants involved in creating a boundary that limits access or exit
3. Entities that form a continuous line or ring around a central point or individual; actors who encircle or envelop an area or person to isolate or protect them; agents establishing containment by positioning themselves on every side

Etymology: "Surrounders" is the plural of "surrounder," a plain English formation: the verb "surround" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning one who surrounds. The verb itself has a more tangled path. It was borrowed in Middle English from Middle French "souronder," which came from Late Latin "superundare," built from Latin "super" ("over") and "undare," "to rise in waves," from "unda," "a wave." So the core image is water rising over something, and a surrounding force is literally a flood washing over its target. The "-er" ending is older than the verb. It descends from a Latin suffix "-arius," which passed through Old French "-ier" and Middle English "-er," so the suffix arrived in English by a separate route from the verb.

Synonyms: encirclers, envelopers, besiegers, enclosers, blockaders

Antonyms: insiders, invaders, penetrators