Etymologically
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circa

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈsɜː.kə/[1]
  • US: /ˈsɜɹ.kə/[1]

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]

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