Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “circular” come from?

Circular comes from Middle English circulere, from Old French circulier, from Late Latin circularis, from Latin circulus meaning "circle or ring," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)ker- meaning "to turn or bend."

circular (English): Of or relating to a circle; In the shape of, or...

Definitions

  1. Of or relating to a circle; In the shape of, or...

Ancestry of “circular”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcirculer—
2Old Frenchcirculier—
3Latincirculāris—
4Latincirculuscircle; An orbit; A ring, hoop
5Latin-ulusUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating...
6Proto-Italic-olos—
7Proto-Italic-elos—
8Proto-Indo-European-e-lós—
9Proto-Indo-European-lósForms agent nouns from verbal roots

Words derived from “circular”

  • semicircular
  • circularity
  • noncircular
  • circularization
  • subcircular
  • circularize
  • semicircularly
  • quasicircular
  • anticircular
  • recircularization
  • metacircular
  • uncircular
  • circularness
  • minicircular
  • bicircular
  • metacircularity
  • supercircular
  • circularizable
  • decircularize
  • circularin
  • circularizer
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -lós →