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circle [circle 词源字典]: circle: [14] Etymologically, a circle is a ‘small ring’. The word comes ultimately from Latin circus (source of course of English circus and of a host of circle-related words), whose diminutive form was circulus. This was actually borrowed into English in Old English times, as circul, but this died out. Modern English circle came via Old French cercle, and to begin with was thus spelled in English, but in the 16th century the Latin i was reintroduced. Latin derivatives include the adjective circulāris, source of English circular [15], and the verb circulāre, whose past participle gave English circulate [15].
=> circulate, circus, search[circle etymology, circle origin, 英语词源]
circumstance: circumstance: see statue
circus: circus: [16] Latin circus meant literally ‘ring, circle’, but it was applied metaphorically by the Romans to the circular arena in which performances and contests were held. That was the original signification of the word in English, applied in a strictly antiquarian sense to the ancient world, and it was not until the late 18th century that it began to be used for any circular arena and the entertainment staged therein.

The Latin word is related to, and may have come from, Greek kírkos; and it is also connected with Latin curvus, source of English curve. It has additionally been linked with Latin corōna ‘circlet’, from which English gets crown. And it is of course, via its accusative form circum, the starting point of a wide range of English words with the prefix circum-, from circumference to circumvent (in this category is circuit [14], which goes back to an original Latin compound verb circumīre, literally ‘go round’).
=> circle, circuit, circulate, crown, curve, search
Arctic Circle: 1550s, in reference to a celestial circle, a line around the sky which, in any location, bounds the stars which are ever-visible from that latitude (in the Northern Hemisphere, this is focused on the celestial north pole); the concept goes back to the ancient Greeks, for whom this set of constellations included most prominently the two bears (arktoi), hence the name for the circle (see arctic). Of Earth, the circle 66 degrees 32 minutes north of the equator, marking the southern extremity of the polar day, it is recorded from 1620s.
circa (prep.): 1856, from Latin circa "around, round about, near; in the region of; about the time of," alternative form of circum "round about" (see circum-).
circadian (adj.): coined 1959 from Latin circa "about" (see circa) + diem, accusative singular of dies "day" (see diurnal). The original use is in circadian rhythm.
Circe (n.): enchantress of the isle of Aea who transformed into swine those who drank from her cup ("Odyssey"), late 14c., from Latin Circe, from Greek Kirke. Related: Circean.
circle (n.): c. 1300, "figure of a circle," from Old French cercle "circle, ring (for the finger); hoop of a helmet or barrel" (12c.), from Latin circulus "circular figure; small ring, hoop; circular orbit" (also source of Italian cerchio), diminutive of circus "ring" (see circus).

Replaced Old English trendel and hring. Late Old English used circul, from Latin, but only in an astronomical sense. Meaning "group of persons surrounding a center of interest" is from 1714 (it also was a secondary sense of Latin circulus); that of "coterie" is from 1640s (a sense also found in Latin circulus). To come full circle is in Shakespeare.
circle (v.): late 14c., cerclen, "to shape like a globe," also "to encompass or surround," from circle (n.). From c. 1400 as "to set in a circular pattern;" mid-15c. as "to move in a circle." Related: Circled; circling. To circle the wagons, figuratively, "assume an alert defensive stance" is from 1969, from old Western movies.
circlet (n.): late 15c., from Middle French cerclet, diminutive of cercle (see circle (n.)).
circuit (n.): late 14c., "a going around; a line going around," from Old French circuit (14c.) "a circuit; a journey (around something)," from Latin circuitus "a going around," from stem of circuire, circumire "go around," from circum "round" (see circum-) + ire "to go" (see ion). Electrical sense is from 1746. Of judicial assignments, from 1570s; of venues for itinerant entertainers, from 1834. Circuit breaker is recorded from 1874. Related: Circuital.
circuit (v.): "to go around," early 15c., from circuit (n.). Related: Circuited; circuiting.
circuitous (adj.): 1660s, from Medieval Latin circuitous "full of roundabout ways," from Latin circuitus "a going round" (see circuit (n.)). Related: Circuitously; circuitousness.
circuitry (n.): 1946, from circuit (n.)+ -ry.
circular (adj.): late 14c., from Anglo-French circuler, Old French circuler "circular" (14c., Modern French circulaire), from Latin circularis, from circulus (see circle (n.)). The metaphoric circular firing squad is attested by 1990.
circular (n.): 1550s, "circular figure," from circular (adj.). Meaning "a notice circulated" is from 1818.
circularity (n.): 1580s, from circular (adj.) + -ity.
circulate (v.): 1540s (late 15c. as a past participle adjective), as a chemical term for alternating vaporization and condensation, from Latin circulatus, past participle of circulare "to form a circle," from circulus (see circle (n.)). Meaning "to move around, revolve" is from 1670s; of blood, from 1650s; of persons, "to mingle in a social gathering," from 1863. Sense of "to pass about freely" is from 1660s; of newspapers from 1885. Related: Circulated; circulating.
circulation (n.): mid-15c., from Middle French circulation or directly from Latin circulationem (nominative circulatio), noun of action from past participle stem of circulare "to form a circle," from circulus "small ring" (see circle (n.)). Used of blood first by William Harvey, 1620s.
circulator (n.): "one who puts (something) in circulation," 1755, agent noun in Latin form from circulate (v.). Classical Latin circulator meant "peddler, hawker," a sense attested occasionally in English 17c. and after.
circulatory (adj.): c. 1600, of blood, from French circulatoire or directly from Latin circulatorius, from circulator, agent noun from circulare (see circulate). Circulatory system is recorded from 1862.
circum-: word-forming element meaning "around, all around, on all sides," from Latin circum- a common element in word-formation, from adverb and preposition circum "around, round about," literally "in a circle," probably accusative form of circus "ring" (see circus). In French, the element became circon-; Kitchin points out that con for cum is common even in classical Latin.
circumambient (adj.): 1630s, from circum- + ambient.
circumambulate (v.): 1650s, from Latin circumambulatus, past participle of circumambulare "to walk around," from circum "around" (see circum-) + ambulare "to walk" (see amble). Related: Circumambulated; circumambulating; circumambulation.
circumcise (v.): mid-13c., "to cut off the foreskin," from Old French circoncisier "circumcise" (12c., Modern French circoncire), from Latin circumcisus, past participle of circumcidere "to cut round, to cut trim, to cut off" (see circumcision). Related: Circumcised; circumcising.
circumcision (n.): late 12c., from Latin circumcisionem (nominative circumcisio), noun of action from past participle stem of circumcidere "to cut around; cut, clip, trim," from circum "around" (see circum-) + caedere "to cut" (see -cide).
circumduction (n.): 1570s, from Latin circumductionem (nominative circumductio), noun of action from past participle stem of circumducere "to lead around, move or drive around," from circum "around" (see circum-) + ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Related: Circumduce.
circumference (n.): late 14c., from Latin circumferentia, neuter plural of circumferens, present participle of circumferre "to lead around, take around, carry around," from circum "around" (see circum-) + ferre "to carry" (see infer). A loan-translation of Greek periphereia "periphery, the line round a circular body," literally "a carrying round" (see periphery). Related: Circumferential.
circumflex (n.): 1570s, from Latin (accentus) circumflexus, "bent around," past participle of circumflectere "to bend around," of a charioteer, "turn around" (from circum "around;" see circum-, + flectere "to bend;" see flexible); used as a loan-translation of Greek (prosodia) perispomenos (Dionysius of Halicarnassus), literally "drawn-around," with reference to shape.
circumfluent (adj.): 1570s, from Latin circumfluentem (nominative circumfluens), present participle of circumfluere "to flow around," from circum- (see circum-) + fluere (see fluent).
circumjacent (adj.): late 15c., from Latin circumiacens, present participle of circumiacere "to border upon, to lie round about, enjoin," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + iacere "to throw, cast, hurl" (see jet (v.)). Related: Circumjacence; circumjacency.
circumlocution (n.): c. 1400, from Latin circumlocutionem (nominative circumlocutio) "a speaking around" (the topic), from circum- "around" (see circum-) + locutionem (nominative locutio) "a speaking," noun of action from past participle stem of loqui "to speak" (see locution). A loan-translation of Greek periphrasis (see periphrasis).
circumnavigate (v.): 1630s, from Latin circumnavigatus, past participle of circumnavigare "to sail round," from circum "around" (see circum-) + navigare (see navigation). Related: Circumnavigated; circumnavigating; circumnavigable.
circumnavigation (n.): 1705, from circumnavigate + -ion.
circumpolar (adj.): 1680s in astronomy; 1690s in geography, from circum- + polar.
circumscribe (v.): late 14c., from Latin circumscribere "to make a circle around, encircle, draw a line around; limit, restrain, confine, set the boundaries of," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + scribere "write" (see script (n.)). Related: Circumscribed; circumscribing.
circumscription (n.): 1530s, from Latin circumscriptionem (nominative circumscriptio) "an encircling; fact of being held to set limits," noun of action from past participle stem of circumscribere (see circumscribe). Figurative sense of "setting limits of meaning" is earliest in English.
circumspect (adj.): early 15c., from Latin circumspectus "deliberate, guarded, well-considered," past participle of circumspicere "look around, take heed," from circum- "around" (see circum-) + specere "to look" (see scope (n.1)). Related: Circumspectly; circumspectness.
circumspection (n.): late 14c., "careful observation of one's surroundings," from Old French circumspection (Modern French circonspection), from Latin circumspectionem (nominative circumspectio) "a looking around; foresight, caution," noun of action from past participle stem of circumspicere "to look around" (see circumspect).
circumstance (n.): early 13c., "conditions surrounding and accompanying an event," from Old French circonstance "circumstance, situation," also literally, "outskirts" (13c., Modern French circonstance), from Latin circumstantia "surrounding condition," neuter plural of circumstans (genitive circumstantis), present participle of circumstare "stand around, surround, encompass, occupy, take possession of" from circum "around" (see circum-) + stare "to stand" from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek peristasis.

Meaning "a person's surroundings, environment" is from mid-14c. Meaning "a detail" is from c. 1300; sense of "that which is non-essential" is from 1590s. Obsolete sense of "formality about an important event" (late 14c.) lingers in Shakespeare's phrase pomp and circumstance ("Othello" III, iii).
circumstances (n.): "condition of life, material welfare" (usually with a qualifying adjective), 1704, from circumstance.
circumstantial (adj.): c. 1600, from Latin circumstantia (see circumstance) + -al (1). Related: Circumstantially. Circumstantial evidence is attested by 1691.
circumstantiate (v.): 1650s, from Latin circumstantia "surrounding condition" (see circumstance) + -ate (2). Related: Circumstantiated; circumstantiating; circumstantiation.
circumvent (v.): mid-15c., "to surround by hostile stratagem," from Latin circumventus, past participle of circumvenire "to get around, be around, encircle, surround," in figurative sense "to oppress, assail, cheat," from circum "around" (see circum-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning "to go round" is from 1840. Related: Circumvented; circumventing.
circumvention (n.): early 15c., from Latin circumventionem (nominative circumventio), noun of action from past participle stem of circumvenire "to get around" (see circumvent).
circumvolution (n.): mid-15c., noun of action from past participle stem of Latin circumvolvere "to revolve through, to roll around" (see circumvolve).
circumvolve (v.): 1640s, from Latin circumvolvere "to roll round, revolve," from circum- (see circum-) + volvere "to turn around, roll" (see volvox). Related: Circumvolved; circumvolving.
circus (n.): late 14c., in reference to ancient Rome, from Latin circus "ring, circular line," which was applied by Romans to circular arenas for performances and contests and oval courses for racing (especially the Circus Maximus), from or cognate with Greek kirkos "a circle, a ring," from PIE *kirk- from root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)).

In reference to modern large arenas for performances from 1791; sense then extended to the performing company, hence "traveling show" (originally traveling circus, 1838). Extended in World War I to squadrons of military aircraft. Meaning "lively uproar, chaotic hubbub" is from 1869. Sense in Picadilly Circus and other place names is from early 18c. sense "buildings arranged in a ring," also "circular road." The adjective form is circensian.
encircle (v.): c. 1400, from en- (1) "make, put in" + circle (n.). Related: Encircled; encircling.
encirclement (n.): 1809, from encircle + -ment.