The act or process of fixing, determining, or clearly marking the limits or boundaries of something.
From Medieval Latin delimitatio (de- + limitatio, from limes meaning boundary or limit). Established in English by the 17th century, used in both literal geographic contexts and abstract meaning-making.
Delimitation is what happens at international borders—when countries meet at a conference table to say 'the boundary is here, not here,' they're conducting a delimitation. It's also what happens when you define the scope of a science project—where does your research begin and end?
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