Definify.com

Definition 2024

circa

circa

English

Alternative forms

ca., ca, or c.; rarely cca. or cir. (abbreviations)

Preposition

circa

approximately, about
Julius Caesar visited this area circa 50 BC.‎

Usage notes

Used only before a date or measure, never after

Translations

approximately, about

Arabic: حَوَالِي ‎(ḥawālī)
Egyptian Arabic: حوالي ‎(ḥawalii)
Bulgarian: около (bg) ‎(okolo), приблизително (bg) ‎(priblizitelno)
Catalan: circa (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 大約 (zh), 大约 (zh) ‎(dàyuē)
Czech: přibližně (cs), cirka (cs)
Danish: cirka (da)
Dutch: circa (nl)
Faroese: umleið
Finnish: noin (fi)
French: (with a measure) environ (fr), (with a date) vers (fr)
Georgian: დაახლოებით ‎(daaxloebit)

German: ungefähr (de), etwa (de), um (de), circa (de), zirka (de)
Greek: περίπου (el) ‎(perípou), περ. ‎(per.)
Hebrew: בקירוב ‎(be'qiruv)
Icelandic: um það bil (is), circa, sirka
Italian: circa (it)
Japanese: 約… (ja) ‎(yaku), 大体… (ja) ‎(daitai), …位 (ja) ‎(kurai; gurai), …頃 (ja) ‎(…ごろ, goro), およそ… ‎(oyoso)
Korean: ...경 (ko) ‎(...頃, ...gyeong), 대략 (ko) ‎(daelyak)
Persian: حوالی (fa) ‎(havâli-ye)
Polish: około (pl)
Portuguese: cerca de, aproximadamente (pt)
Russian: приблизи́тельно (ru) ‎(priblizítelʹno), приме́рно (ru) ‎(primérno), о́коло (ru) ‎(ókolo) (+ genitive case)
Spanish: cerca de, aproximadamente (es)

Anagrams

craic

Dutch

Alternative forms

ca.

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin circa.

Adverb

circa

circa: about, approximately

French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin circa.

Preposition

circa

approximately, about

German

Alternative forms

zirka

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɪʁka]

Adverb

circa

circa

Synonyms

Italian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin circa.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtʃir.ka/
Hyphenation: cìr‧ca

Preposition

circa

regarding, concerning

Adverb

circa

about, approximately

Anagrams

ricca

Latin

Etymology

A later form for circum, or from circum + eā.

Adverb

circā ‎(not comparable)

around; about

Preposition

circa + accusative case

around; near; about
regarding, concerning

Related terms

circus

Descendants

Dutch: circa
English: circa

Italian: circa
Portuguese: cerca

Romanian: circa
Spanish: circa, cerca

References

circa in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
circa in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
CIRCA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
Félix Gaffiot (1934), “circa”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
circa in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin circa.

Adverb

circa

approximately, about, or so

Synonyms

cam