What does compassing mean?
'Compassing' is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'compass', carrying two main strands of meaning. In its older, spatial sense it describes the act of surrounding, encircling, or getting around something on all sides — darkness might be said to be compassing a traveller, or enemies compassing a besieged town. In its second sense it means scheming or contriving to bring something about, often something illicit: to be 'compassing someone's death' was, in historic English law, itself an act of treason under the statute describing 'compassing, imagining, inventing, devising, or intending' harm to the sovereign. Today the word is largely literary, legal-historical, or archaic; most modern writers reach for the related form 'encompassing' when they mean surrounding or including broadly. Its roots lie in the notion of measuring or going around step by step.
verb (present participle and gerund)The present participle and gerund of the verb 'compass': surrounding, encircling, or encompassing something on all sides; or scheming, plotting, or contriving to bring something about.
- Surrounding or encircling something on all sides (now chiefly literary or archaic).
- Scheming, plotting, or contriving to bring something about, especially something harmful (now chiefly legal-historical, as in 'compassing the death of the king').
- Achieving or attaining an end through effort or contrivance.
"The enemy army was compassing the city on every side, cutting off all routes of escape."
"Darkness was already compassing the little boat as it drifted away from shore."
"He spent years compassing his rival's downfall through quiet intrigue at court."
In old English law, merely 'compassing' the death of the king was treason — even if you never lifted a finger.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of compassing
'Compassing' derives from the verb 'compass', which entered Middle English from Old French 'compasser', ultimately from the Vulgar Latin 'compassare', meaning to measure out or pace off step by step (from Latin 'passus', a step or pace). The original idea of moving or measuring around something gave rise both to the spatial sense of encircling and, figuratively, to the sense of contriving or plotting one's way toward an end.
Related word forms
How compassing is actually used
Largely literary, archaic, or technical-legal in modern English; everyday use has shifted to its derivative 'encompass'. The sense of plotting survives mainly in historical and legal writing about treason.
Easily confused with compassing
'Composing' means creating or putting together (as in music or writing), whereas 'compassing' means encircling or scheming.