Environment \En*vi"ron*ment\, n. [Cf. F. environnement.]

1. Act of environing; state of being environed.

2. That which environs or surrounds; surrounding conditions, influences, or forces, by which living forms are influenced and modified in their growth and development.

It is no friendly environment, this of thine. --Carlyle.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)