circuit English · revision 5008

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1382|origins=la circuitus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈsɜː.kɪt/, US /ˈsɝː.kɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|circuyt]], [[bor|fro|circuit|t=a circuit, a journey around]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|circuitus|t=a going around]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from circuīre, circumīre “to go around”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) formed from circum “around” and īre “to go”,^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[ine-pro|*h₁ey-|alt=*ei-|t=to go]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[exit]] and [[circum-]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The line described in going round an area, a circumference: 1382 in the OED and Barnhart, in the Wycliffe Bible.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A roundabout course or detour is from 1413,^(OED 1989) and the space enclosed within limits from about 1400 (1483 in the OED).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A district in which periodic journeys are made, especially by judges, is from the 1570s,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and the route of travelling entertainers from 1834.^(Etymonline) A ''circuit rider'' was a Methodist preacher riding a circuit (by 1834).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The electrical sense, the path of a current, is from 1746,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and a ''circuit breaker'' from 1872 or 1874.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) A road for motor racing is from 1935.^(OED 1989) ''Circuitry'' is from 1946.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1382 – a circumference.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1413 – a detour.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1570s – a judge's circuit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1746 – an electrical circuit.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1834 – an entertainers' circuit.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1935 – a racing circuit.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The complete path along which an electric [[current]] flows.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A route or track that goes around and ends where it started, especially one for [[motor racing]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A regular journey from place to place, made by a judge, preacher or performer, or the area covered.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A series of events or places at which the same people perform or compete: ''the tennis circuit''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To go around something.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[circuital]]

+ * [[circuiter]]

+ * [[circuitous]]

+ * [[circuitry]]

+ * [[circuity]]

+ * [[closed-circuit]]

+ * [[microcircuit]]

+ * [[multicircuit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[circum-]]

+ * [[exit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}