circuit

Forms

circuit n (plural circuite)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French circuit, with Italian circuito and learned borrowed from Latin circuitus named beside it as models.^[2][3][1] Tiktin takes it after the French word, with the New Latin form behind it, and the DA calls it a neologism from French.^[4][5] The Latin noun is formed on circumeō (“to go around”), from circum (“around”) and eō (“to go”), with the suffix -tus of action nouns.^[2][1]

French had the word as a feminine, spelled ⟨circuite⟩, around 1220 and in its present form from 1257, borrowed from the Latin noun in the sense “a going round”.^[6] Graur lists the Romanian word among the descendants of the Latin verb “to go”, beside itinerar, ieși, pieri and tranzit.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin both date the first record to 1857.^[2][4] The sense DELR gives for the first record is a route whose start and end coincide, a sequence of movements that come back to the starting point.^[2] Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 glosses it with German words for “circumference, surroundings”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The first senses were spatial: a circular movement round a place, a roundabout way, and a set distance on a more or less circular course for races.^[5][9] In French the word had already gained the idea of an organised round trip in motor racing (1902) and tourism (1932).^[6]

The electrical sense, the path the current follows through the wires, is in CADE (1931), with scurt-circuit after French court-circuit.^[10][5] DELR dates the compound scurtcircuit to 1921 and the verb scurtcircuita to 1949.^[2] The economic senses, the movement of capital through money, production and goods, and the movement of goods, are in the dictionaries from the 1950s on.^[11][3] The press of the 1980s has circuit integrat “integrated circuit”, and microcircuit, borrowed from English, is dated 1975.^[12][2]

Timeline

• 1220s – French circuite (feminine), from Latin;^[6] circuit from 1257.^[6]
• 1857 – the first Romanian record.^[2][4]
• 1886 – glossed “circumference, surroundings” by Barcianu.^[8]
• 1921 – the compound scurtcircuit “short circuit”.^[2]
• 1931 – the electrical sense in CADE.^[10]
• 1949 – the verb scurtcircuita.^[2]
• 1975 – microcircuit, from English.^[2]
• 1984 – circuit integrat “integrated circuit” in the press.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. An electric circuit: the wires and devices that, together with the source of current, form a closed path for it;^[3][13][1] circuit imprimat a printed circuit.^[3][13][1]
2. A system of pipes or media through which liquids, gases or particles can flow.^[3][14]
3. (economics) The whole of the real and monetary transactions among the agents of an economy; the movement of goods; the process of turning raw materials into finished products.^[3][13]
4. A more or less circular course laid down for a race; a route travelled on a set itinerary that returns to its starting point;^[3][15] circuitul apei în natură the water cycle.^[3][15]
5. A circular movement round a place or object.^[13][5]

Word family

• microcircuit
• scurtcircuit
• scurtcircuita

Related words

• itinerar
• tranzit
• Latin circuitus

Usage notes

The plural is circuite; the DA also gives circuituri, and Scriban and CADE have -uri.^{[3][5][9][10]}

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. circuit
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 188
4. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. circuít
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. circuit
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
8. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 108
9. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 286
10. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. circuit
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 434
12. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. circuít
13. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 412
14. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. circuit
15. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. circuit