circuitous
/səˈkjuːɪtəs/sur-KYOO-ih-tuhs
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/sɚˈkjuɪtəs/sur-KYOO-ih-tuhs
Meaninggoing round about
Common meaning: indirect, roundabout
Tap a word part to explore
- circa ring; aroundLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 335 · scan
- itto goLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 649 · scan
- ousadjective ending: full of, having
‘a ring’ + ‘to go’ → circuitous
Journey through time
circ Latin circus; circum “a ring; around”
- Latincircus; circum
it Latin eō, īre, itum “to go”
- Latineō, īre, itum
Parts join in French as circuit.
- Frenchcircuit
- Englishcircuit‘a round trip’
- Englishformed in English from circuitcircuitous‘indirect, roundabout’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from circuit + -ous.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), CIRCUIT, p.111 · scan
Roots
- circus; circum Latin “a ring; around”
- eō, īre, itum Latin “to go”
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