circumstance
Meaningwhat stands around
Common meaning: a fact or condition surrounding an event
- circa ring; aroundLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 335 · scan
- umstem link (from circum)
- stato stand, be upright or stillLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1762 · scan
- ncenoun ending marking a condition or act
‘a ring’ + ‘to stand, be upright or still’ → circumstance
Journey through time
- circ — Latin circus; circum “a ring; around” (path traced)
- sta — Latin stō, stetī, statum “to stand, be upright or still” (path traced)
Parts join in Middle English as circumstaunce.
- Latincircus; circum + stō, stetī, statum‘a ring + to stand, be upright or still’
- Middle Englishcircumstauncesource
- Englishcircumstance‘a fact or condition surrounding an event’ · today
circ also in: circlecircuscircuitcircularcirculate
sta also in: stanzastatussubstancethermostatsubstandard
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: Built on Latin circus; circum ‘a ring; around’ + Latin stō ‘to stand, be upright or still’.
Did you know (Latin circus, "a…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry circus, p. 335 · dictionary scan
Did you know (Latin stare, "to…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry stō, p. 1762 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry STANZA, p. 591 · dictionary scan
Roots
- circus; circum Latin “a ring; around”
- stō, stetī, statum Latin “to stand, be upright or still”
Related words
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