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> Imagine two amoeba-like shapes, one smaller than the other. Both are only
> represented by their outlines. The smaller amoeba outline appears to have
> been ingested by the larger amoeba outline, but its boundary does touch
> that of its larger brethren.
>
> I'm looking for an adjective to describe this condition that is similar to
> concentric or conjoined, neither of which are 100% accurate in describing
> this item. The best I've come up with to date is to describe the larger
> amoeba as the "surrounding region" of the smaller amoeba.
IIRC, set theory uses the verb "contain." The set of all dogs contains the set of poodles; the set of poodles is contained by the set of all dogs. For nouns, you could use subset and superset. The set of all dogs is a superset of the set of poodles; the set of poodles is a subset of all dogs. Can't think of any helpful adjectives, and I'm not sure you need them. :-}
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
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