círculo

Forms

círculo m (plural círculos)^[1] The 15th-century texts write circulo, çirculo and çircollo.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin circulus (“ring, hoop; circle”), a learned word recorded from the 15th century.^[2][3][1] Houaiss lists the Latin senses “wheel, ring, plane figure bounded by the circumference, celestial zone of the turning stars, noisy gathering”.^[2]

The same Latin word was inherited as Italian cerchio, French cercle and Catalan cercle.^[4] Galician círculo, Spanish círculo and Italian circolo are learned like the Portuguese word.^[1]

The Latin noun is a diminutive in -ulus of circus (“circle; circus”).^[5][1] De Vaan considers that noun probably a loan from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos, “ring”), also κίρκος (kírkos), of uncertain origin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 15th century; his sense “something round and open, a ring, hoop, wheel” is dated to the same century.^[2] Cunha gives the senses “belt, wheel, ring” beside the geometrical figure.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Morais (1813) has the geometrical figure and the circles of the sphere, the equator and the meridians.^[7] Figueiredo (1899) adds a territorial district and, figuratively, a meeting or meeting place.^[8] Houaiss lists the modern figurative senses: a group of people brought together by friendship, culture or a profession (círculo literário, círculos diplomáticos), a club, a field of activity, a person's milieu.^[2] The word also names an electoral district.^[9][1]

Houaiss notes that círculo is also used for the circumference, the curved line itself, a use the Porto dictionary calls incorrect but general.^[2][10]

Timeline

• 1400s – first records, circulo and çirculo.^[2][3]
• 1700s – first record of the adjective circular.^[3]
• 1813 – Morais defines it as a term of geometry.^[7]
• 1813 – first record of the verb circular.^[3]
• 1899 – Figueiredo adds “territorial district” and “meeting”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (geometry) A plane surface bounded by a circunferência; a circle.^[2][11][1]
2. (by extension) The circumference itself: Traçou um círculo com o compasso.^[2][10]
3. Any round figure or object; a disc, a ring, a hoop.^[2][12]
4. A circular movement or course: andar em círculos.^[2][13]
5. People or things arranged round a centre.^[2]
6. (figurative) A group of people joined by friendship or a common interest; a club, society: um círculo de leitores.^[2][12]
7. (figurative) A field, sphere, milieu: no círculo familiar.^[2]
8. An administrative or electoral district; a constituency.^[2][9][1]
9. (astronomy, geography) An imaginary line round the celestial or terrestrial sphere: os círculos polares.^[2]

Word family

• semicírculo

Related words

• circo
• circular
• circunferência
• circulação
• Latin circulus
• French cercle

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. círculo
3. ^ a b c d e f Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. círculo
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1947
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. circulus
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 1, 399
8. ^ a b Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. 301
9. ^ a b Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. círculo
10. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 2107
11. ^ Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. círculo
12. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. círculo
13. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. círculo