circulo

Forms

circulō (present infinitive circulāre, perfect active circulāvī, supine circulātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from circulus “small ring, circle” with the verb suffix -ō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of the deponent circulārī.^[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

As a deponent, circulor, it meant to gather a ring of people round oneself, for talk or to give a performance, as in Cicero.^[2] The active, a post-classical collateral form, meant to make circular or curved, as in Apuleius' circulāre digitōs “to make a ring with one's fingers”.^[2][5][6]

Its participle circulātus gave English circulate in the 1540s, first a chemical term.^[3] It survives in Italian circolare and cerchiare and French circuler.^[1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses circulārī.^[2][4]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of rounding.^[2][4]
• 1540s – English circulate is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make round or curved.^[2]
2. (deponent) To gather a group round oneself.^[2]

Related words

• circulus
• circus
• English circulate

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.