Cir*cum"fer*ence (?), n. [L. circumferentia.]

1. The line that goes round or encompasses a circular figure; a periphery. Millon.

2. A circle; anything circular.

His ponderous shield . . .
Behind him cast. The broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the moon.
Milton.

3. The external surface of a sphere, or of any orbicular body.

Cir*cum"fer*ence, v. t. To include in a circular space; to bound. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

• (geometry) The distance measured around a circle.
  
• The distance measured around any object, whether circular or not.