circulation English · revision 10799

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=mid-15th century|origins=la circulatio}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌsɜː.kjəˈleɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌsɝː.kjəˈleɪ.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from Middle French circulation or directly [[bor|la|circulātiō]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) a noun from circulāre, to form a circle, from circulus, small ring (see [[circle]] and [[circulate]]).^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In alchemy, the continuous distillation of a liquid, changing one element into another: the mid-15th century in Etymonline;^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) movement round about, 1535 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of blood, moving so that it returns and begins again, it was first used by William Harvey in the 1620s.^(Etymonline) Repetition of a series of events in the same order is from 1682.^(OED 1989) The act of being distributed, as of money or news, is from the 1680s,^(Etymonline) and the extent to which a newspaper or magazine circulates, its number of copies, from 1847.^(Etymonline) ''In circulation'' and ''out of circulation'' are later idioms.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-15th century – continuous distillation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1535 – movement round about.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1620s – circulation of the blood.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1680s – distribution.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1847 – a newspaper's circulation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The movement of [[blood]] round the body, pumped by the heart.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Movement or passage through a system or in a circle.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The spread or passing of something, such as money or news, from person to person.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The number of copies of a newspaper or magazine sold or distributed.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[microcirculation]]

+ * [[noncirculation]]

+ * [[collateral circulation]]

+ * [[pulmonary circulation]]

+ * [[systemic circulation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[circulate]]

+ * [[circle]]

+ * [[circular]]

+ * [[circus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}