circus

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A traveling show with acrobats, clowns, and trained animals, usually held in a large tent.

   The children always love to go to the circus.

2. 2
   noun

   A noisy, chaotic, and confusing situation.

   The press turned the trial into a complete circus.

3. 3
   noun

   A round open space in a town or city where several streets meet.

   Oxford Circus in London is at the north end of Regent Street.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Circus entered English in the late Middle English period from Latin circus, meaning “ring.” In Roman use it denoted a rounded or oval arena for public contests, and its circular sense later influenced place names for open areas where streets converge.

From Middle English circus, circo, from Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos), κίρκος (kírkos, “ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). Doublet of cirque. Cognate with Old English hring (whence English ring) and Old English hringsetl (“circus”, literally “ring-seat”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary