circa

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin circā (“around, about”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from circum (“round about”),^[2][4][7][5] which comes from circus (“circle”).^[4][6] Barnhart and the American Heritage Dictionary see the ending as modelled on Latin adverbs such as suprā (“above”), extrā (“outside”) and intrā (“within”).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

About, around: 1861, in the “National Review”.^[3][7][2] Etymonline dates it to 1856, in the sense "at or near a given date" when the exact date is unknown.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Latin the word meant "around, near" in place as well as "about the time of".^[5] In English it is used mainly before dates, as in circa 1400, and the OED notes it also in combination.^[3][8] Merriam-Webster also records a rare noun, an approximation, from George Saintsbury.^[7]

Timeline

• 1856 – about, near a given date, according to Etymonline.^[5]
• 1861 – around, about, especially before dates.^[3][7][2]

Meanings

Preposition

1. Used before a date, at about the time of; approximately: The chapel was built circa 1250.^[8][7][9]

Related words

• circum-
• circus
• circle
• circuit

Usage notes

It is often shortened to c. or ca.^[8][7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press