environs

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /ɪnˈvaɪrənz/ UK /ɪnˈvaɪrənz/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the surrounding area or district of a place

They explored the cathedral and its medieval environs all afternoon.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the surrounding area or... surroundings outskirts vicinity precincts neighborhoodpurlieussuburbs

Opposites

center core

Word family

Related forms environ environment

Etymology

From French environs ('surroundings'), plural of environ ('around'), from en ('in') + viron ('circuit'), from virer ('to turn').

environ Old French virer Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# environs

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪnˈvaɪrənz/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈvaɪrənz/

## Meanings
1. the surrounding area or district of a place

## Examples
- They explored the cathedral and its medieval environs all afternoon.

## Synonyms
- surroundings
- outskirts
- vicinity
- precincts
- neighborhood
- purlieus
- suburbs

## Antonyms
- center
- core

## Related Forms
- environ
- environment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: environ
- Root: virer

## Etymology
From French environs ('surroundings'), plural of environ ('around'), from en ('in') + viron ('circuit'), from virer ('to turn').

## AI Etymology
Environs is from French environs ('surroundings'), plural of environ ('around'), from en ('in') + viron ('circuit'), from virer ('to turn'). Important recorded forms include environ (Old French) and virer (Old French). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers the surrounding area or district of a place. The wider family includes related words such as environ and environment.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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