Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “circuit” come from?

Circuit comes from Middle English circuit, from Old French circuit, from Latin circuitus, the past participle of circuire meaning to go around, derived from circum meaning around.

circuit (English): The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a...

Definitions

  1. The act of moving or revolving around, or as in a...

Ancestry of “circuit”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcircuit—
2Old Frenchcircuit—
3Latincircuituspatrol; circuit; revolution
4Latincircumeō—
5Latineō—
6Proto-ItaliceōI go
7Proto-Italicejō—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁éytito go, to be going
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁ey-to go

Words derived from “circuit”

  • circuitry
  • subcircuit
  • microcircuit
  • neurocircuitry
  • circuity
  • circuital
  • microcircuitry
  • nanocircuitry
  • circuiteer
  • circuiter
  • nanocircuit
  • neurocircuit
  • macrocircuit
  • recircuit
  • short circuit
  • minicircuitry
  • cocircuit
  • seket
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- →