cirque

Etymology

It is borrowed from French cirque,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} recorded in French from the 14th century,^[3] from Latin circus (“circle, ring; arena”).^{[2][3][4][6][8]} Compare Italian circo and Spanish circo.^[2][3] Etymonline takes the Latin word as borrowed from or cognate with Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kikro-, a reduplicated form of *sker- (“to turn, bend”);^[3] the OED derives it from the Greek word, and Klein thinks borrowing more probable than kinship, tracing the Greek to Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, twist”).^[2][8] The geological sense follows French usage.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A circus, the arena of ancient Rome: 1601, in P. Holland's translation of Pliny.^[2][4] Etymonline dates it to about 1600.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1644 the word was used of any circular space, especially one for games,^[2] and Johnson (1755) gave it as a variant of circus, an open space for sports with seats around it.^[9] In poetry it meant a circle, ring or circlet, from 1677;^[2][7][5] the Oxford Dictionary of English dates the word to the late 17th century in this sense.^[10] From 1845 it was used of a modern circus, chiefly in names.^[2] The geological sense, a natural amphitheatre high in the mountains at the head of a stream or glacier, is recorded from 1874 and followed French usage;^[2][7][5] it is now the word's main sense.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 1601 – a circus, the arena of ancient Rome.^[2][4]
• 1644 – any circular space, especially for games.^[2]
• 1677 – poetic, a circle, ring or circlet.^[2]
• 1845 – a modern circus, chiefly in names.^[2]
• 1874 – a natural amphitheatre in the mountains, carved by a glacier.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deep, steep-walled, bowl-shaped hollow at the head of a mountain valley, carved by a glacier and often holding a small lake; also called a corrie or cwm.^{[11][12][4][5]}
2. (poetic) A circle, ring or circlet.^{[11][4][5][2]}
3. (archaic) A circus, especially an arena of ancient Rome.^[13][4][2]

Related words

• circus
• circle

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
13. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster