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circumbendibus

/ˌsərkəmˈbɛndəbəs/
IPA guide

Other forms: circumbendibuses

Anything circumbendibus is rambling and roundabout. If you’re late for school, you could explain to the teacher that construction work blocked the road, forcing you to take a circumbendibus that added half a mile to your drive. The teacher may or may not be impressed.

The word circumbendibus isn't used as much as it used to be. It was more common in the 17th and 18th centuries. A circumbendibus can be any roundabout route, or it could be something said in a roundabout way. The word can also be used as an adjective: For example, you might read, “After his lengthy, circumbendibus digression, he finally got to the point of the story." The word is built from the combining form circum-, "around"; the English word bend; and a deliberately misapplied Latin ending, -ibus, to humorously fancy it up.

Definitions of circumbendibus
  1. adjective
    (humorous) roundabout; rambling
  2. noun
    (humorous) a roundabout route or something expressed in a roundabout way
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