Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “circuit” come from?

circuit (Middle English) comes from Old French circuit, from Latin circuitus, from Latin circumeō, from Latin eō, from Proto-Italic eō, from Proto-Italic ejō, from Proto-Indo-European h₁éyti, from Proto-Indo-European h₁ey- — to go.

Ancestry of “circuit”, step by step

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

Words derived from “circuit”

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