different between suburb vs environs

English

Etymology

From Old French suburbe, subburbe, from Latin suburbium, from sub- + urbs (“city”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?b?b/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s?b??b/

Noun

suburb (plural suburbs)

1. A residential area located on the outskirts of a city or large town that usually includes businesses that cater to its residents; such as schools, grocery stores, shopping centers, restaurants, convenience stores, etc.

   Coordinate term: exurb

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     These two circumstances, however, happening both unfortunately to intervene, our travellers deviated into a much less frequented track; and after riding full six miles, instead of arriving at the stately spires of Coventry, they found themselves still in a very dirty lane, where they saw no symptoms of approaching the suburbs of a large city.

   • 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages

     [London] could hardly have contained less than thirty or forty thousand souls within its walls; and the suburbs were very populous.

2. (by extension) The outer part; the environment.
   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     the suburbs […] of sorrow
3. (Australia, New Zealand) Any subdivision of a conurbation, not necessarily on the periphery.

Derived terms

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French environs.

Noun

environs pl (plural only)

1. plural of environ; The surroundings; the environment.

Verb

environs

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of environ

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.vi.???/

Noun

environs m pl (plural only)

1. neighborhood (close proximity, particularly in reference to home)

Further reading

• “environs” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• enivrons