ambient

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Latin ambiens (“going around”), from ambiō (“go around”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ˈæm.biː.ənt/, X-SAMPA: /"{m.bi:.@nt/

Adjective

ambient (comparative more ambient, superlative most ambient)

1. Encompassing on all sides; surrounding; encircling; enveloping.

   A cup of tea eventually cools to the ambient temperature.

   • Alexander Pope

     A glorious pile […] whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds concealed.

   • Milton

     This which yields or fills all space, the ambient air wide interfused.

2. (music) Evoking or creating an atmosphere: atmospheric.
3. Relating to, or suitable for, storage at room temperature.

   ambient food

   ambient warehousing

Translations

Encompassing on all sides; surrounding; encircling; enveloping

• Bulgarian: околен (bg) (okolen), заобикалящ (bg) (zaobikaljašt)
• Finnish: ympäröivä (fi)
• Georgian: გარშემორტყმული (ka) (garšemortqmuli) 
• Icelandic: umlykjandi (is) m, allt um kring (is), umhverfis- (is)

• Latvian: visaptverošs (lv), ietverošs (lv), apkārt esošs (lv)
• Malay: sekitar (ms), sekeliling (ms)
• Marathi: ney gherlele (mr)
• Persian: محیط (fa), محیطی (fa)
• Russian: окружающий (ru) (okružájuščij) 

(music) evoking or creating an atmosphere

• Finnish: ambient-
• Italian: ambientale (it)
• Latvian: ambientā mūzika

• Marathi: vaataavaran (mr)
• Persian: امبینت (fa)

Noun

ambient (plural ambients)

1. Something that surrounds.
2. (uncountable, music) A type of modern music which incorporates elements of various musical styles, and creates a relaxing and peaceful atmosphere.
   • 1996, SPIN magazine (volume 12, number 3, page 116)

     Ambient can be flabby synth mulch that needs to access cyberism and external philosophies to convince you you're not being scammed.

3. (astrology) The atmosphere; the surrounding air or sky; plural atmospheric components collectively such as air, clouds, water vapour, hail, etc.
   • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):

     It might be also, that attracted by that great void Vacuum ... all the ambients would be rarified, and particularly, the air.

Synonyms

• (music): ambient music, chillout

Translations

Something that surrounds

• Polish: otoczenie (pl) n
• Russian: окружающая среда (ru) (okružájuščaja sredá) f 

• Swedish: omgivande (sv)

Type of modern music

• Finnish: ambient-musiikki
• Italian: ambient (it) m

• Latvian: ambientā mūzika
• Russian: эмбиент (ru) m (embijent)

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989

References

• ambient in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• ambient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Latin

Verb

ambient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of ambiō