The notion of surroundings refers to the contour , environment or surroundings of something. That which occurs around a thing , therefore, takes place in its vicinity or surrounding it .
For example: “Investigators have several hypotheses surrounding the crime,” “Thousands of protesters marched around the Government Palace with banners demanding justice,” “Don't pay attention to what's happening around you: focus on what you're doing.” .
Suppose that , surprisingly, the coach of a basketball team presents his resignation and leaves his position. Given this situation, rumors begin to circulate in the media about the situation : they are versions or facts that arise around the decision of the professional in question. A fight with the team captain, non-payment of salary, a better offer from another club and a health problem are some of the possible causes for the resignation mentioned by journalists.
If a person enters a room and looks around , on the other hand, what they are doing is looking at all angles. He does not look only ahead nor concentrates his sight on one point: on the contrary, he looks at his surroundings.
The idea of surroundings can also be understood regarding what is accessory or secondary . In a soccer match, the main thing is what happens on the playing field. But around this spectacle, multiple events take place: the sale of t-shirts, the consumption of food and drinks, the songs and shouts of supporters, the work of journalists, etc.
Although the word around is still valid in our language, it is currently used mainly in literary and journalistic fields, since in everyday speech others are preferred, such as being around or even the expression in a circle : "We sat around the fire." » , «We made a bonfire and sat in a circle / around « .
Regarding the etymology of this term, we can start with around , which was formed by metathesis of "around", inverting "derre" to convert it into "rede". For its part, derredor is made up of the preposition de and the adverb redor , which derives from the Latin retro , which can be translated as "behind."
The concept of metathesis refers to a figure of transformation that consists of changing the position of certain sounds within a given word, whether they attract or repel each other. When it involves an exchange between two sounds, the phenomenon is called reciprocal metathesis : animalia became vermin . If just one sound changes place within the boundaries of the word, then we speak of simple metathesis : integrare became deliver .
It can also happen that the sounds in question are next to each other; In this case, we are faced with a metathesis in contact , just as happened with the term vidua to reach widow . If, on the other hand, the parts are separated, there is a metathesis at a distance .
Although, as mentioned above, this term is not used in everyday speech, this does not mean that it does not find a place at some point in people's daily lives, beyond the pages of books and newspapers. So much so that if we refer to Christmas songs, we will find it in one of the best known of all time: "Silent Night." One of the verses of this carol , which was composed in German and later translated into our language, says "everything sleeps around."