The practice of measuring and mapping land boundaries and elevations, or the act of examining something comprehensively. Used both for literal land measurement and metaphorical examination of situations or opinions.
From Old French surveoir 'to oversee,' from sur- 'over' and veoir 'to see' (from Latin videre). Originally meant 'to oversee or supervise,' with the technical land-measurement meaning developing in the 16th century.
Ancient surveying techniques were so accurate that some Egyptian pyramids are aligned to within just 3/60th of a degree—more precise than many modern buildings. The familiar phrase 'back to square one' actually comes from surveying, where square one was the initial reference point for measurements.
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