circlen.

Brit.

/ˈsəːkl/, U.S.

/ˈsərk(ə)l/

Forms: Old English–Middle English circul, Middle English–1500s cercle, Middle English–1500s sercle, cerkle, (also Middle English cercul(l, Middle English cerkil, serkle, serkel(e, Middle English ceercle, cer-, serkyll(e, 1500s serkell, cirkle, cyrcle, 1600s circel); 1500s– circle.

Etymology: In Old English circul (in Astronomy, sense 2), < Latin circulus; in Middle English cercle, < French cercle < Latin circulus, diminutive of circus (in Greek also κίρκος, κρίκος) a round, a ring. From the 16th cent. altered to circle under influence of the Latin.

I. As a figure or appearance.

a. A perfectly round plane figure. In Geometry defined as a plane figure bounded by a single curved line, called the circumference, which is everywhere equally distant from a point within, called the centre. But often applied to the circumference alone, without the included space. to square the circle: to find a square of the same area as a given circle (a famous problem, incapable of geometrical solution). See square n., quadrature n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle

rondelc1300

roundelc1300

circlec1305

compass1340

rondelet1385

cerne1393

burrc1440

orba1460

O1492

O1531

circular1575

rotundo1614

rhomb1656

circumference1667

the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > annular quality > ring

ringeOE

circlec1305

cerceaus1340

hoop1530

hoop-ring1545

annulus1563

ringleta1616

annule1681

zone1752

the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > closed curve > circle

circlec1305

c1305 Edmund Conf. 232 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 77 Þreo rounde cerclen heo wrot: in þe paume amidde.

c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 173 A sparke of fire, turnede aboute in derke nyȝte, semes to make cercul.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) v. i. 70 In the circumference of eueriche of these cercles, was sette a lytel Cercle.

1483 Cath. Angl. 56 Half a Cerkylle, semicirculus.

?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) iii. xi. sig. Riv Their circumferences or circles.

1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 81 The beame is a line stretching directly from the circle to the center, & contrariwise from the center to the circle.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. iii. 112 Glory is like a Circle in the Water, Which neuer ceaseth to enlarge it selfe.

1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. v. x. sig. Mm5^v Archimedes..was so busie in tracing his Circles.

1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. (new ed.) I. 284/2 The circumference or periphery itself is called the circle, though improperly, as that name denotes the space contained within the circumference.

1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 55 The resulting curve, the circle, is..the least beautiful of all curves.

1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith ii. 67 A circle whose centre is everywhere and its circumference nowhere.

1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 276 These twelve bundles would be arranged in a circle if they had a radially perpendicular course.

b. In a vaguer and more general sense.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > a circle or ring

rounda1325

circlec1380

rigol1459

roundel1486

rundle1529

roundaboutc1535

circule1549

gyre1590

ringle1598

cirque1677

crinkle1702

circus1748

c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 250 Þat heering shulde be in a sercle, bifore men and bihinde men, and on ech side of men.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1658 There were bordis full bright aboute in þat sale, Set in a cercle, of Sedur tre fyn.

1647 J. Cleveland Poems in Char. London-diurnall (Wing C4662) 44 When he would lie downe, he wheels about; Makes circles, and is couchant in a ring.

1713 R. Steele in Guardian 12 Mar. 1/1 Inclosed in a Circle of Foliages.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 29 Love,..in the circle of his arms Enwound us both.

1877 W. C. Bryant Among Trees 31 The mightiest with their circles of strong roots.

c. Colloquial phrase to go, run or rush (a)round in circles: to rush about in all directions; to move or act aimlessly or inconclusively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort in vain

to lose or spill one's whilec1175

to speak to the windc1330

tinec1330

to beat the windc1375

lose?a1513

to boil, roast, or wash a stonea1529

to lose (one's) oil1548

to plough the sand (also sands)a1565

to wash an ass's head (or ears)1581

to wash an Ethiop, a blackamoor (white)1581

to wash a wall of loam, a brick or tilea1600

to milk the bull (also he-goat, ram)1616

to bark against (or at) the moona1641

dead horse1640

to cast stones against the wind1657

dry-ditcha1670

baffle1860

to go, run or rush (a)round in circles1933

1933 H. L. Ickes Diary 27 Sept. in Secret Diary (1953) I. 99 I asked the oil people to supply the..necessary facts and figures. They keep promising to do it but according to the solicitors they don't furnish them. The result is that we have been running around in circles.

1940 G. Butler Kiss Blood off Hands i. 11 They were running around in circles, shouting and blaming each other.

1942 ‘P. Wentworth’ Pursuit of Parcel xxxvi. 168 He had been rushing around in circles because he didn't dare to stop and think what might be happening to Delia.

1953 H. Waugh Last seen Wearing 58 We've been going around in circles long enough. If she's down there I want to know it.

2. spec.

a. Astronomy circle of altitude n. a small circle parallel to the horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almacantar. circle of curvature n. (see curvature n.). circle of declination n. a great circle passing through the poles of the celestial equator. circle of illumination n. a circle passing through the centre of a planet perpendicular to a line drawn from the sun to the planet, and so separating its illuminated and unilluminated hemispheres. circle of latitude n. (a) on the celestial sphere, a great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic; (b) on the terrestrial sphere, a meridian on which latitude is measured; also used = parallel of latitude n. at parallel n. 1b. circle of longitude n. (a) on the celestial sphere, a small circle parallel to the ecliptic; (b) on the terrestrial sphere = parallel of latitude n. at parallel n. 1b. circle of perpetual apparition n. that circle around the elevated celestial pole at any place, within which the stars never set. circle of perpetual occultation n. that circle around the depressed pole, within which the stars never rise. circle of position n. Astronomy each of six great circles of the celestial sphere passing through the north and south celestial poles and dividing the celestial equator into twelve equal parts. diurnal circle n. the circle described by a heavenly body in its apparent diurnal rotation round the earth. great circle n. a circle on the surface of a sphere, whose plane passes through the centre. horary circle n. each of the lines marking the hours on a sundial (see also sense 13a). polar circle n. a circle parallel to the equator, at a distance from either pole equal to the greatest declination of the ecliptic. vertical circle n. a great circle perpendicular to the horizon.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun]

circle of altitudec1000

linea1387

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle

great circle1594

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle > hour circle > declination circle

circle of declination1594

the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > closed curve > circle > on a sphere

great circle?1530

great circle1594

secondary circle1704

secondary1715

orthodrome1855

separator1869

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle > hour circle > circle of position

circle of position1669

the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > movement in orbit > orbit > diurnal circle

diurnal circle1774

c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 238 Þær ðæs emnihtes circul is geteald.

c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 244 Þone miclan circul zodiacum.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) viii. vii. 305 There is a South Cercle of heuen that markyth that parte of the cercle that hyghte Zodiacus.

1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Ij^v Beyond y^e circle called Tropicus Capricorni.

1556 R. Record Castle of Knowl. 91 The climates may well be accompted 48 betwene the twoo polare circles.

1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Mi^v/1 Y^e Cirkle of cancer, tropicus cancri.

1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Miv/1 Y^e Cirkle equinoctial.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii.i. ix. f. 141 The lesser Circles..the two Tropiques, and the two polar Circles.

1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xvi. f. 148^v What be Colures? They be great moouable circles passing through both the Poles of the world, which the Astronomers do otherwise call Circles of declination.

1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vii. xix. 31 Circles of Position..do all cross one another in the North and South Points of the Meridian.

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Circles of Position, are Circles passing thro' the common Intersections of the Horizon and Meridian, and thro' any Degree of the Ecliptic ..; us'd for finding out the Situation or Position of any Star.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 197. ⁋11 The seamen..would talk of longitude and latitude and circles and tropicks.

1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 58 When the Star approaches near to the Plumb-lines on the other side of its diurnal Circle.

1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Math. Geogr. 5/2 Meridians are also called circles of latitude, because upon them the latitudes of places are measured.

1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Navigation 27 Great circles..passing through the zenith of any place, are called vertical circles.

1905 Amer. Math. Monthly 12 231 That portion of the heavens which is never visible to an observer in a certain latitude is that cut off by the circle of perpetual occultation.

b. Nautical. great circle sailing: navigation along the arc of a great circle of the earth.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > types of navigation

great circle sailing1595

loxodromics1704

oblique sailing1704

orthodromics1704

right sailing1704

parallel sailing1705

orthodromy1706

plane sailing1749

composite sailing1850

loxodromy1855

radio navigation1926

hyperbolic navigation1945

satnav1970

hyperbolic system1972

1595 J. Davis Seamans Secrets i. sig. A1 Great Circle Navigation, which teacheth how vpon a great Circle drawn betweene any 2. places assigned,..the Ship may be conducted.

1652 H. Phillippes Geom. Sea-man 48 You may sail by the arch of a great Circle.

1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Order of sailing Hence we say..parallel and great circle sailing.

1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 50 In 1561, Cortez..advocated the adoption of Great Circle Sailing, in opposition to that by Plumb-lines.

c. Photography. circle of confusion, (also in Physics) circle of least confusion: see quots.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > type of focusing

depth of field1855

circle of least confusion1867

flatness of field1867

infinity1867

register1890

fixed focus1892

back focus1897

circle of confusion1906

isocentre1931

split-field1941

split-image1950

1867 T. Sutton & G. Dawson Dict. Photogr. 57 Circle of least confusion, the nearest approach to a focus of a pencil after oblique reflexion or refraction.

1903 C. Beck & H. Andrews Photogr. Lenses (ed. 2) iii. 58 When the screen reaches X the circle of illumination will be the smallest size attainable with the lens under consideration, the circle at this point is called the circle of least confusion.

1906 R. C. Bayley Compl. Photographer xii. 150 ‘Depth of focus’..depends upon the size of what is termed the ‘circle of confusion’.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 163/2 Circle of confusion, the minimum area of a focused bright point of light, the size of which determines the maximum definition possible with a given lens arrangement and stop.

1953 S. W. Amos & D. C. Birkinshaw Television Engin. i. ix. 173 Objects near the object plane give images which are only slightly blurred, points being reproduced as circles which are known as circles of confusion.

1958 H. J. Gray Dict. Physics 88/2 Circle of least confusion, circle through which all the rays over the aperture pass.

1961 A. L. M. Sowerby Dict. Photogr. (ed. 19) 120 It is usually assumed that a circle of confusion of ¹/ ₁₀₀ in. corresponds to the boundary between ‘sharp’ and ‘unsharp’ in a print held at the normal viewing distance of about 10 in. from the eye.

1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Circle of confusion, the indistinct circular patch formed by a lens representing the out-of-focus image of a single object point—called also blur circle.

1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Circle of least confusion (Physics), the minimum cross section of a symmetrical bundle of rays that have no common focus because of spherical aberration.

3. As a figure of magic or necromancy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun] > sign or symbol used in

characta1393

character1449

circle1529

triangle1584

post-writing1621

magic circle1654

sigil1659

hag track1836

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 120/1 Negromancers put their trust in their cercles, within which thei thinke them self sure against all y^e deuils in hel.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 291 If you would coniure in her, you must make a Circle .

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. v. 56.

1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xii. 164 Many did use enchantments, invocations, circles, witchcrafts, soothsaying.

1717 C. Bullock Woman is Riddle iv. i. 44 I believe you'd raise the Devil to obtain a circle.

a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 299 The magic circle of Fashion whirling them perpetually in a giddy round of unavailing trifles.

a. Formerly: the sphere or ‘heaven’ in which a heavenly body was supposed to revolve.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun] > of particular body

circle1340

spherec1374

1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7640 Oboven us er alle þe planetes seven, And þe cercle of ilk ane es called ane heven.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 141 Ase he [saturne] deþ ine þritti yer ine his oȝene sercle and ine his oȝene yernnge.

b. Now: the orbit of a planet or other body.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > movement in orbit > orbit

runeeOE

circlea1530

cycle1631

orbit1649

orb1733

a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxviii Y^e..sterres, hath..an other [motion] by y^e mouyng of the first orbe, whiche draweth them w^t him in his circle euery day.

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 4038 The sun in his serkyll set in þe last, Passyng fro pisshes.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 746 Hee thought the Sunne, would soner haue fallen from his circle.

1611 Bible (King James) Wisd. xiii. 2 The swift aire, or the circle of the stars.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Love & Duty in Poems (new ed.) II. 84 The Sun will run his orbit, and the Moon Her circle.

1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VII. ii. lx. 433 Thrice nine days, a full circle of the moon.

5. The orb of a heavenly body.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > heavenly body > [noun] > orb

circle1769

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 578 Amid the Suns bright circle where thou sitst. ]

1769 J. Home Fatal Discov. iv Sunk in the western wave, The Sun but half his glorious circle shews.

1821 Ld. Byron Cain ii. i, in Sardanapalus 374 Yon small blue circle, swinging in far ether.

6. A luminous ring in the sky, a halo. circle of Ulloa: a luminous ring or white rainbow sometimes appearing in alpine regions opposite the sun during foggy weather (named after Antonio Ulloa in 18th cent.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > luminous appearance > [noun] > aureole

circlea1123

hale1440

brough1496

burrow1499

halo1563

shine1581

burr1631

broucha1657

glory1693

aureole1858

Scheiner's halo1983

a1123 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1104 On þam Tiwæs dæge þæræfter ætywdan feower circulas..Onbutan þære sunnan hwites hiwes.

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 17^v Such Meteores, whose matter is most of the aire. Of this sort be..circles, raynbowes.

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 34 The Circle called Halon, is a garland of diuerse collours that is seen about the sunne, the Moone, or any other sterre.

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 35 A great Circle about the Moone, betokeneth great colde and frost to follow after.

1815 T. I. M. Forster Res. Atmosph. Phænom. (ed. 2) ii. 99 Halones are called Lunar or Solar... They are generally pretty correct circles.

a. Applied to ring-like markings; e.g. to fairy-rings. white circle n. old name of the Milky way.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the universe > constellation > galaxy > [noun] > Milky Way

wayeOE

Watling Streetc1384

galaxya1398

milky circlea1398

Milky Wayc1450

milk way1555

milk-white way1555

white circle1563

milken waya1586

milken race1596

milk circle1601

Via Lactea1615

lacteous circle1646

Milky Way1854

Walsingham Wayc1878

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > fairy-ring

circle1563

fairy ring1600

roundelaya1635

fairy circlea1678

mushroom ring1807

pixie ring1837

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 17^v Y^e white circle, called of som watling strete.

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 38 The milke way, is a whyte circle seen in a cleare night.

1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors v. f. 68^v Those round circles, which are seen in many fieldes, that ignoraunt people affirme to be the rynges of the fayries danses.

1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. O4^v More..creases..in his face, than there be Fairie circles on Salsburie Plaine.

a1799 Withering in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 97 135 The bare and brown, or highly cloathed and verdant circles in pasture fields called Fairy-rings.

b. A dark circular mark around or beneath the eyes, noticeable esp. in delicate or sick persons, or in persons who have slept badly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > discoloration > circles round eyes

blue eyea1545

circle1847

ring1850

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 118 Her face might be a trifle paler, and the circles round her eyes a little blacker than usual.

1893 ‘S. Grand’ Heavenly Twins III. v. iv. 60 There were great black circles round his sunken eyes.

1906 J. Galsworthy Man of Prop. ii. xi. 244 There were circles under her eyes, as though she had not slept.

1932 A. Christie Peril at End House vi. 75 The circles under her eyes were darker than usual.

†8. Medicine. The highest ‘region’ of urine. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > urine > [noun] > parts or substances of

circle1541

garland1547

urohaematin1863

urochrome1864

urobilin1876

midstream1962

1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 87 b In urine, being in a vessell apt therunto to be sene, are thre regions..The hyghest region is the cerkle.

1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines i. i. 51 If they compasse and enuiron but the halfe of the circle or garland, then do they argue a paine in one side of the head.

II. As a thing material.

9. A ring, circlet, annulet.

ΚΠ

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xi. 22 A goldene cercle in the nose thirlis..of a souwe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8242 Quen it was closid aboute, þat tre A siluer cerkil sone naylede he.

c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xiv. 86 A cerkil was Sene..as of Bras.

10.

a. A band encircling the head; a crown, coronet, diadem.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > symbol of office or authority > regalia > [noun] > crown

kine-helmOE

crownOE

diademc1290

garlandc1330

circlea1340

the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > jewellery worn on the head > [noun] > coronet or circlet

mindOE

crownOE

diademc1290

coronalc1330

circlea1340

garland?a1366

coronaclea1400

crowneta1425

crownalc1443

chapleta1464

circlet1481

cronet1519

cronicle1569

graundcie1592

anadem1598

coronet1599

carcanet1602

frontlet1610

circuita1616

rosary1651

tiar1660

tiara1718

ferronière1831

a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xx. 3 Þe whilk ere about him til his fairehed, as a cercle in a mannys heued.

1460 Lybeaus Disc. 841 A sercle upon her molde, Of stones and of golde.

1600 T. Dekker Old Fortunatus sig. B2 These browes fill vp The golden circle of rich Portugall.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) v. i. 2 Thus haue I yeelded vp into your hand The Circle of my glory

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1661 (1955) III. 277 The Barons put of their caps & circles.

1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 327 The Headress is..bound on..with a circle of Di'monds.

1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Piccolomini iii. i. 134 In his dream of hope, he grasps already The golden circle.

†b. A band or wreath surmounting or encircling a knight's helmet. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > helmet > [noun] > circlet

coronalc1325

circlec1330

c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 3857 An helme he haþ on him don..The sercle of gold þer-on was wrouȝt.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1600 Þe cercles þat were on hur helmes set of perre y-mad & golde.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xiv. 220 He made sheeldes shiver fro nekkes, and helmes from hedes, that the serkeles fly a-sonder.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) ix. 24 He stroke Charlot on the helme in suche wyse that the serkell nor coyfe of stele cowd not defende hym.

11.

a. The ring of a circus.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > circus performance > [noun] > circus arena > ring

circle1623

circus-ring1869

1623 W. Sclater Quæstion of Tythes 184 Thou shalt not goe to the Circle or Theatre.

1768 Lady M. W. Montagu Poems (1785) 25 Plays, operas, circles I no more must view!

1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 201 Whose partially corked eyebrows, and half rouged face, testify to the fact of his having just left the stage or the circle.

b. One of the galleries or tiers of seats in a theatre; the lowest, containing the most expensive seats, is called the dress circle; that above, the upper circle or family circle.

ΚΠ

1878 N. Amer. Rev. 127 484 There they sit in splendid array, in the dress-circle, close to the royal box.

12. Archaeology. A series of stones set up in a ring, such as those at Avebury and Stonehenge.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > stone > circle

carol1330

stone circlea1722

circle1772

1772 T. Pennant Tours Scotl. (1774) 180 These circles were formed for religious purposes.

1847 J. Yeowell Chron. Anc. Brit. Church xii. 136 A large block of hewn granite, such as the Druids used for forming their circles.

1861 Sat. Rev. 7 Sept. 253 The well-known Druidical circle of Arborlow.

1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. vi. 172 The venerable circle of Abury, perhaps the most interesting of our great national monuments.

13. The name of various instruments.

Categories »

a. Astronomy. An instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle, as mural circle, reflecting circle, repeating circle, transit circle (see mural n.¹, etc.). Also, horary circle, a metal circle on a globe, marked with the hours, and shewing the difference of meridians in time.

b. in Bookbinding: (see quot. 1837).

ΚΠ

1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades (1842) 37 The letters and ornaments are engraved in relievo on the points of punches or on the edges of circles of brass.

14. Anatomy. circles of Haller: the fibro-cartilaginous rings to which the mitral and tricuspid valves of the heart are attached. circle of Willis: see quot. 1840.

ΚΠ

1840 G. V. Ellis Demonstr. Anat. 20 By the anastomosis of the internal carotid and basilar arteries at the base of the brain, they give rise to an arterial circle..named the circle of Willis.

†15. See quot. c1440 and snail n.¹ Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > movable shed

sow1297

mantel1357

snail1408

vinet1408

whelk1408

circlec1440

barbed-cat1489

mantle1489

mantlet1524

vine1565

tortoise1569

sow-guard1582

penthouse1600

penticle1600

target-roof1601

vinea1601

fence-roof1609

testudo1609

cat-house1614

vineyard1650

tortoiseshell1726

manta1829

cat1833

ram-house1850

tortoise-roof1855

bear1865

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 66 Cercle, clepyd the snayle, as of Pentys, and other lyke, spira.

III. In transferred and figurative senses.

16.

a. The circuit or compass of a place, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > circumference

compass1340

circuita1382

roundnessa1382

circumference1393

circlea1400

round?a1500

circumstance1509

apsis1601

ambit1655

a1400 Pistel of Susan 10 Withinne þe sercle of sees.

c1440 Gesta Romanorum xix. 65 How many daies iourney beth in þe sercle of the world?

c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11682 Hit is keppit..Within the cercle of the Cité.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) v. ii. 136 To whip this dwarfish warre, this Pigmy Armes From out the circle of his Territories.

1666 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 14 The poor inhabitants were dispersed about St. George's Fields, and Moorfields, as far as Highgate, and several miles in circle.

b. (With capital initial.) The name given to a line on the Underground railway in London; the ‘Inner Circle’ (cf. inner adj.).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > forming part of a system > specific underground line

Inner Circle1869

circle1886

1886 H. Baumann Londinismen 26/1 Circle..Londoner Eisenbahn: Circle trains, Züge der unterirdischen Bahn.

1903 Punch 30 Sept. 231 Uncle Jack is coming to meet us by a Circle Train.

1907 Westm. Gaz. 7 Nov. 10/3 The only chance for the effective working of the ‘Circle’ lay in the arrangements being taken over entirely by one of the two companies.

1955 ‘W. Mole’ Hammersmith Maggot v. 60 Perry walked primly down to the Circle platform... He took the eastbound Circle train.

1970 G. Lord Marshmallow Pie v. 53 They went down on the platform to wait for the Circle Line train.

17.

Thesaurus »

a. A completed revolution or course of time, or of action, or events in time; a cycle, period.

b. ‘Any series ending as it begins, and perpetually repeated’ (Johnson); a round.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > [noun] > a series or succession > series ending as it begins

circlec1475

cycle1662

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 77 If ani be in possessioun of oþer mennis þingis by a cercle of ȝeris, he shal ioi it as his oune.

1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 6, in 2nd Pt. Herball I heare saye that in diuers circles or goynges aboute of yeares, the nature of the bathes is sharper.

1648 Bp. J. Hall Breathings Devout Soul xxv. 38 Lord God, What a wearisome circle do I walk in here below.

1690 W. Temple Ess. Anc. & Mod. Learning in Wks. (1731) I. 159 Science and Arts have run their Circles, and had their Periods in the several Parts of the World.

1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) i. 73 And all the Hours obedient run The Circle of the Day.

1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. viii. 301 The circle of the year.

c. See full circle adv. and adj.

18. A completed chain, series, or sequence of parts forming a connected whole.

ΚΠ

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiii. sig. Fviii^v The worlde of science, [or] the circle of doctrine, whiche is in one worde of greeke Encyclopedia.

1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 293. ¶3 If I thought the whole Circle of our Being was concluded between our Births and Deaths.

1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 71 That nothing might be wanting to compleat the Circle of Pleasures in this City.

1854 (title) Orr's Circle of the Sciences: A Series of Treatises on the Principles of Science.

1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith vi. §1. 336 Every problem with its solution forms, when solved, a circle.

1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 155 The luminous circle of demonstrative truth.

19. Logic. A fallacious mode of reasoning, wherein a proposition is used to establish a conclusion, and afterwards proved by means of the conclusion which it has been employed to establish; so that, as in a circle, there is really no starting-point. Hence to reason in a circle or argue in a circle.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [noun] > logical fallacy > vicious circle

circle1646

tautology1659

vicious circlec1792

vicious cycle1846

circulus vitiosus1902

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. iv. 14 The circle of this fallacie is very large.

1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. ii. lxxx You dispute in a Circle as all Logicians know.

1679 R. South Serm. Several Occasions 23 This he explodes as a circle, and so derides it.

1725 I. Watts Logick iii. iii. 472 That Sort of Fallacy which is called a Circle is very near akin to the Petitio Principii.

1837 R. Whately Elem. Logic 225 Arguing in a circle must necessarily be unfair, though it is frequently practised undesignedly.

1876 E. Mellor Priesthood iv. 161 The authority of the law is demanded, and he [Cardinal Wiseman] cites the disputed passage. A more palpable and vicious circle was never devised.

20. A number of persons standing or seated round a person or object of interest; ‘an assembly surrounding the principal person’ (Johnson), as at Court, at a Drawing-room or Levée, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of people > round a person or thing

circle1714

the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of people

ringOE

round1489

rotund1636

circle1766

round O1845

1714 London Gaz. No. 5271/2 The Queen has had a Circle every Evening.

1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 34 Casting..maternal regards..through the pretty smiling circle.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 291 A splendid circle of English nobles and statesmen stood round the throne.

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 47 There was also a circle of lookers on.

21.

a. A number of persons united by acquaintance, common sentiments, interests, etc.; a ‘set’ or coterie; a class or division of society, consisting of persons who associate together.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > [noun] > social group > exclusive

sect1608

circle1646

coterie1738

circuit1752

set1780

in-group1906

the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > state of being acquainted > acquaintance > those with whom one is acquainted

couthc1000

kithc1000

knownc1350

knowledge1389

kithinga1400

acquaintancea1425

circle1646

sphere1839

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. ix. 36 I shall have reason and experience of every circle to support me.

1752 H. Fielding Covent-Garden Jrnl. 13 Aug. 1/2 He quotes the Phrases, a polite Circle, the Circle of one's Acquaintance, People that live within a certain Circle.

1793 J. Boswell Life Johnson (ed. 2) I. Advt. p. xiv The felicity which he diffused through a wide circle of admirers and friends.

1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. xviii. 212 It is evident that you belong to the first circles .

1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. xix. 229 Threw a real gloom over their domestic circle .

1878 W. Black Green Pastures ii. 16 Don't you think that one ought to try to understand what is going on outside one's immediate circle?

1880 L. Stephen Alexander Pope viii. 195 The staple talk of the circles in which he moved.

1885 Manch. Examiner 12 Aug. 5/4 The death of Lord Houghton..will leave a blank in political, social, and literary circles.

b. spec. = séance n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > seance

séance1845

sitting1851

circle1856

session1858

spooking1919

1856 Spiritual Herald May 124 I attended three public circles in the spirit-house of Mr. Koons.

1864 R. Browning Dramatis Personæ (ed. 2) 179 David holds the circle... Sets to the spirit-writing, hears the raps.

1867 J. H. Powell title Mediumship:..with brief instructions for the formation of Spirit-Circles.

1926 A. Conan Doyle Hist. Spiritualism II. xviii. 111 The process at work in the formation of ectoplasm at a circle.

22. Historical. A territorial divison of Germany under the Holy Roman Empire. Also a secondary division in certain German and Slavonic provinces. [German Kreis, French cercle.]

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > in Germany

circle1675

amt1694

peasantry1762

gau1845

1675 London Gaz. No. 980/2 400 Men of the Circle of Saxony.

1675 London Gaz. No. 1040/2 The Troops of the Circles have already passed the Rhine.

1700 J. Astry tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Royal Politician I. Pref. The most Serene House and Circle of Burgundy.

1712 London Gaz. No. 4993/1 Those of the Electoral Circle of the Rhine are met.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 347 The Austrian Netherlands..were considered as a circle of the empire.

1865 S. Baring-Gould Bk. Were-wolves xiv. 239 In the circle of Tornow, in Western Galicia—the province is divided into nine circles.

23. A non-material region or realm marked off, as a circle is by its circumference; the area over which anything is conceived of as acting or exerting influence. Cf. sphere n. 7b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > [noun] > sphere or scope of operation

circuity1542

circuit1597

orb1598

range1622

sphere1661

circle1664

random1667

purview1688

domain1764

purvey1813

preserve1829

scope1830

demesne1851

coverage1930

space1976

1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. C3 To be within the circle of possibilities.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 196. ⁋7 If he adventures into the circle of action.

1844 E. B. Browning Drama of Exile in Poems I. 48 The circle of God's life Contains all life beside.

1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) xv, in Writings I. 149 Whether it was in the circle of probability for one so respectably born, etc.

1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 13 All around Nature, and inside her circle.

†24. to give the lie in circle: i.e. circuitously, indirectly. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iii. iv. sig. G4 Face... Rules, To giue, and take the Lie, by. Kas. How? to take it? Face. Yes, in oblique, hee'll shew you; or in circle: But neuer in diameter.

a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Queene of Corinth iv. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Bbbbbb4/2 Has he given the lye In circle, or oblique, or semy-circle, Or direct paralell?

Compounds

C1. Generalattributive.

circle-parade n.

ΚΠ

1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 43 On the Use of the Circle Parade.

circle-squarer n.

ΚΠ

1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight xvi. 174 So with the circle-squarers, perpetual motion discoverers.

circle-squaring n.

circle-branching adj.

ΚΠ

1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. E3 A circle-braunching tree.

circle-like adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [adjective] > circular

trendledc1220

circle-likea1420

circular1430

compass?1523

compassed1551

circled1578

circuled1582

orbal1603

circulary1610

wheely1708

spherical1730

encircular1806

sphered1820

wheeled1820

moony1836

wheel-shaped1895

a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 184 Cerclelyk shappe is most perfite figure.

1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 39 Crowtoe..His roote circlelike or round.

circle-spread adj.

ΚΠ

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. v. 191 Their circle spred tops.

C2.

circle-cutter n. (see quots.)

ΚΠ

1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 197/1 Circle cutter, an optician's tool with a diamond on the arm, for cutting circles in thin glass for covers for objects on slides.

1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 254 Circle cutter;..a cutter..pressing out circular shapes from sheet metal for lids, trays, etc.

circle-iron n. (see quot.).

ΚΠ

1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 554/1 Circle-iron, a hollow punch for cutting planchets, wads, wafers, and circular blanks; A fifth wheel.

† circle-mure v. Obsolete = circummure v.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)] > enclose with a wall

wall1297

mure?a1425

upwallc1440

enwall1523

dikec1575

immure1605

circle-mure1606

circummurea1616

immurala1680

1606 N. Baxter Sir Philip Sydneys Ouránia sig. I2 Circle-muring strong their pettie fort With Pallazado Flanker Loop and Porte.

circle-reading n. (see quots.)

ΚΠ

1878 S. Newcomb Pop. Astron. 156 The mean of the results from the four microscopes is called the circle-reading.

circle-rider n. U.S. a cowboy engaged in circle-riding.

ΚΠ

1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Apr. 860/1 As soon as..the last circle-riders have come in..we begin to work the herd.

1926 D. Branch Cowboy & his Interpreters 56 In rough country where each little ravine must be searched and each knoll circled, each group of ‘circle riders’ would be smaller than groups in unbroken plains country.

circle-riding n. U.S. a method of gathering in cattle (see quot.).

ΚΠ

1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Apr. 857/2 This morning work is called circle riding... As the band goes out, the leader from time to time detaches one or two men to ride.., making the shorter, or what are called inside, circles, while he keeps on, and finally..makes the longest or outside circle himself.

circle-tomb n. (see quot.: cf. 12).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > types of tomb > [noun] > types of ancient or prehistoric

table tomb1738

well tomb1843

chamber tomb1850

passage grave1865

allée couverte1870

passage tomb1870

mastaba1882

tholos1885

beehive tomb1887

circle-tomb1889

shaft tomb1895

shaft-grave1910

pit-cave1921

gallery grave1937

dyss1938

1889 Athenæum May 4 576 In one of the circle-tombs peculiar to the necroplis of that place [Vetulonia] (so called because surrounded by a rude stone circle).

Draft additions 1997

A crop circle (see crop n. Compounds 2).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land raising crops > [noun] > land on which crop is flattened

circle1980

crop circle1988

corn circle1989

1980 Now! 29 Aug. 21/3 I have never seen marks cut as deeply as these recent circles. The spiral effect is important.

1982 G. T. Meaden in Jrnl. Meteorol. 7 lxvi. 47 As with the Westbury ‘circles’..,the circles are all clockwise spirals.

1987 Flying Saucer Rev. xxxii. vi 12/2 While we continue to use the term ‘circles’ in general, very few of them are actually perfectly round.

1993 J. Schnabel Round in Circles vi. 65 [He] began to assert in his confident, somewhat headmasterish manner that the circles were definitely caused by whirlwinds, and that any other theory was foolish and misguided and unscientific.

Draft additions April 2011

Originally U.S. to run (also do, etc.) circles round (also around): to surpass with ease; to outclass; cf. to run rings round at ring n.¹ 16d. Also with other verbs: to outperform easily in the specified activity.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)] > so completely as to be in different class

outclass1870

to run circles round1897

1897 Syracuse (N.Y.) 4 July 9/6 The speedy Herreshoff flyer..has for four years been facile princeps on the river. She could run circles around any of the craft running between Clayton and the Bay.

1906 McClure's Mag. July 229/2 That old road engine? We could do circles 'round him. Wait till we meet a decent car.

1912 Sunset Mar. 286/2 My girl could sing circles around a sky lark.

1916 in J. London On Makaloa Mat 198 In a hundred yards the world champion could invariably beat him a second flat; but over a distance of miles he could swim circles around the champion.

1947 J. Godden House by Sea iv. iii. 208 I will make circles round them, I promise you, and they will go away with their tails between their legs, no wiser than when they came.

1959 A. Abbs Ashanti Boy v. 173 With his brain..he'll be able to run circles round everybody as he goes up that school.

1985 P. Auster N.Y. Trilogy (1988) i. x. 98 In spite of his inane malapropisms, he can talk circles around everyone else.

2008 S. Augarde Winter Wood (2009) ii. 24 Quick-thinking, tap-dancing Azzie, who could run circles round this lot, physically and verbally, before they'd have time to blink.

Draft additions October 2001

circle change n. Baseball a slow pitch used as a changeup, in which a pitcher bends the forefinger into the thumb before throwing the ball from the palm (see quot. 1992).

ΚΠ

1985 Los Angeles Times 18 Oct. vi. 20/1 Did anyone really yearn to hear detailed analysis of the circle change-up?... Or that the circle change-up is a half screwball, but not a true screwball?]

1988 Chicago Tribune 21 Sept. iv. 4/4 The circle change has replaced the split-fingered fastball..as the glamor pitch of the '80s.

1992 N. Ryan & J. Jenkins Miracle Man xiii. 159 I did develop what's called a circle change, where you use your forefinger and thumb to form a circle and hold the ball in your palm. As you release the ball, you keep the thumb and forefinger touching.., causing the ball to slide out of your hand and off your remaining three fingers.

2001 Arlington (Texas) Morning News (Electronic ed.) 20 Feb. He now relies on a low-90s four-seam fastball, a slow curveball and a circle-change.

Draft additions June 2020

circle dance n. any of various (esp. traditional, folk, or religious) dances in which the dancers form a circle.Cf. round dance n. 1(a), ring dance n.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > round dance > [noun]

carolc1300

carolingc1300

roundc1487

ring dancea1522

round dance1530

ringlet1600

roundel1600

round game1611

circle dance1821

ronde1823

ring play1856

1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 147/1 Next this act follows a national circle dance, the landlord leads the first pair, with one of the rustic Floras, his guests and peasants behind him.

1923 W. O. E. Oesterley Sacred Dance iii. 37 The theory of some scholars that the circle dance was a symbolic representation of the movement of the heavenly bodies has..a good deal to commend it.

2013 New Yorker 11 Nov. 79/3 The young people often join hands and do the carola, a circle dance born of the Middle Ages.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	circle
释义	circlen. Brit. /ˈsəːkl/, U.S. /ˈsərk(ə)l/ Forms: Old English–Middle English circul, Middle English–1500s cercle, Middle English–1500s sercle, cerkle, (also Middle English cercul(l, Middle English cerkil, serkle, serkel(e, Middle English ceercle, cer-, serkyll(e, 1500s serkell, cirkle, cyrcle, 1600s circel); 1500s– circle. Etymology: In Old English circul (in Astronomy, sense 2), < Latin circulus; in Middle English cercle, < French cercle < Latin circulus, diminutive of circus (in Greek also κίρκος, κρίκος) a round, a ring. From the 16th cent. altered to circle under influence of the Latin. I. As a figure or appearance. 1. a. A perfectly round plane figure. In Geometry defined as a plane figure bounded by a single curved line, called the circumference, which is everywhere equally distant from a point within, called the centre. But often applied to the circumference alone, without the included space. to square the circle: to find a square of the same area as a given circle (a famous problem, incapable of geometrical solution). See square n., quadrature n. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle rondelc1300 roundelc1300 circlec1305 compass1340 rondelet1385 cerne1393 burrc1440 orba1460 O1492 O1531 circular1575 rotundo1614 rhomb1656 circumference1667 the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > annular quality > ring ringeOE circlec1305 cerceaus1340 hoop1530 hoop-ring1545 annulus1563 ringleta1616 annule1681 zone1752 the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > closed curve > circle circlec1305 c1305 Edmund Conf. 232 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 77 Þreo rounde cerclen heo wrot: in þe paume amidde. c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 173 A sparke of fire, turnede aboute in derke nyȝte, semes to make cercul. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) v. i. 70 In the circumference of eueriche of these cercles, was sette a lytel Cercle. 1483 Cath. Angl. 56 Half a Cerkylle, semicirculus. ?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) iii. xi. sig. Riv Their circumferences or circles. 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xi. 81 The beame is a line stretching directly from the circle to the center, & contrariwise from the center to the circle. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. iii. 112 Glory is like a Circle in the Water, Which neuer ceaseth to enlarge it selfe. View more context for this quotation 1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. v. x. sig. Mm5^v Archimedes..was so busie in tracing his Circles. 1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. (new ed.) I. 284/2 The circumference or periphery itself is called the circle, though improperly, as that name denotes the space contained within the circumference. 1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 55 The resulting curve, the circle, is..the least beautiful of all curves. 1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith ii. 67 A circle whose centre is everywhere and its circumference nowhere. 1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 276 These twelve bundles would be arranged in a circle if they had a radially perpendicular course. b. In a vaguer and more general sense. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > a circle or ring rounda1325 circlec1380 rigol1459 roundel1486 rundle1529 roundaboutc1535 circule1549 gyre1590 ringle1598 cirque1677 crinkle1702 circus1748 c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 250 Þat heering shulde be in a sercle, bifore men and bihinde men, and on ech side of men. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 1658 There were bordis full bright aboute in þat sale, Set in a cercle, of Sedur tre fyn. 1647 J. Cleveland Poems in Char. London-diurnall (Wing C4662) 44 When he would lie downe, he wheels about; Makes circles, and is couchant in a ring. 1713 R. Steele in Guardian 12 Mar. 1/1 Inclosed in a Circle of Foliages. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 29 Love,..in the circle of his arms Enwound us both. 1877 W. C. Bryant Among Trees 31 The mightiest with their circles of strong roots. c. Colloquial phrase to go, run or rush (a)round in circles: to rush about in all directions; to move or act aimlessly or inconclusively. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort in vain to lose or spill one's whilec1175 to speak to the windc1330 tinec1330 to beat the windc1375 lose?a1513 to boil, roast, or wash a stonea1529 to lose (one's) oil1548 to plough the sand (also sands)a1565 to wash an ass's head (or ears)1581 to wash an Ethiop, a blackamoor (white)1581 to wash a wall of loam, a brick or tilea1600 to milk the bull (also he-goat, ram)1616 to bark against (or at) the moona1641 dead horse1640 to cast stones against the wind1657 dry-ditcha1670 baffle1860 to go, run or rush (a)round in circles1933 1933 H. L. Ickes Diary 27 Sept. in Secret Diary (1953) I. 99 I asked the oil people to supply the..necessary facts and figures. They keep promising to do it but according to the solicitors they don't furnish them. The result is that we have been running around in circles. 1940 G. Butler Kiss Blood off Hands i. 11 They were running around in circles, shouting and blaming each other. 1942 ‘P. Wentworth’ Pursuit of Parcel xxxvi. 168 He had been rushing around in circles because he didn't dare to stop and think what might be happening to Delia. 1953 H. Waugh Last seen Wearing 58 We've been going around in circles long enough. If she's down there I want to know it. 2. spec. a. Astronomy circle of altitude n. a small circle parallel to the horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almacantar. circle of curvature n. (see curvature n.). circle of declination n. a great circle passing through the poles of the celestial equator. circle of illumination n. a circle passing through the centre of a planet perpendicular to a line drawn from the sun to the planet, and so separating its illuminated and unilluminated hemispheres. circle of latitude n. (a) on the celestial sphere, a great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic; (b) on the terrestrial sphere, a meridian on which latitude is measured; also used = parallel of latitude n. at parallel n. 1b. circle of longitude n. (a) on the celestial sphere, a small circle parallel to the ecliptic; (b) on the terrestrial sphere = parallel of latitude n. at parallel n. 1b. circle of perpetual apparition n. that circle around the elevated celestial pole at any place, within which the stars never set. circle of perpetual occultation n. that circle around the depressed pole, within which the stars never rise. circle of position n. Astronomy each of six great circles of the celestial sphere passing through the north and south celestial poles and dividing the celestial equator into twelve equal parts. diurnal circle n. the circle described by a heavenly body in its apparent diurnal rotation round the earth. great circle n. a circle on the surface of a sphere, whose plane passes through the centre. horary circle n. each of the lines marking the hours on a sundial (see also sense 13a). polar circle n. a circle parallel to the equator, at a distance from either pole equal to the greatest declination of the ecliptic. vertical circle n. a great circle perpendicular to the horizon. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] circle of altitudec1000 linea1387 the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle great circle1594 the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle > hour circle > declination circle circle of declination1594 the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > closed curve > circle > on a sphere great circle?1530 great circle1594 secondary circle1704 secondary1715 orthodrome1855 separator1869 the world > the universe > celestial sphere > circle of celestial sphere > [noun] > great circle > hour circle > circle of position circle of position1669 the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > movement in orbit > orbit > diurnal circle diurnal circle1774 c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 238 Þær ðæs emnihtes circul is geteald. c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 244 Þone miclan circul zodiacum. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) viii. vii. 305 There is a South Cercle of heuen that markyth that parte of the cercle that hyghte Zodiacus. 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Ij^v Beyond y^e circle called Tropicus Capricorni. 1556 R. Record Castle of Knowl. 91 The climates may well be accompted 48 betwene the twoo polare circles. 1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Mi^v/1 Y^e Cirkle of cancer, tropicus cancri. 1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Miv/1 Y^e Cirkle equinoctial. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii.i. ix. f. 141 The lesser Circles..the two Tropiques, and the two polar Circles. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises iii. i. xvi. f. 148^v What be Colures? They be great moouable circles passing through both the Poles of the world, which the Astronomers do otherwise call Circles of declination. 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. vii. xix. 31 Circles of Position..do all cross one another in the North and South Points of the Meridian. 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Circles of Position, are Circles passing thro' the common Intersections of the Horizon and Meridian, and thro' any Degree of the Ecliptic ..; us'd for finding out the Situation or Position of any Star. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 197. ⁋11 The seamen..would talk of longitude and latitude and circles and tropicks. 1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 58 When the Star approaches near to the Plumb-lines on the other side of its diurnal Circle. 1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Math. Geogr. 5/2 Meridians are also called circles of latitude, because upon them the latitudes of places are measured. 1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Navigation 27 Great circles..passing through the zenith of any place, are called vertical circles. 1905 Amer. Math. Monthly 12 231 That portion of the heavens which is never visible to an observer in a certain latitude is that cut off by the circle of perpetual occultation. b. Nautical. great circle sailing: navigation along the arc of a great circle of the earth. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > [noun] > types of navigation great circle sailing1595 loxodromics1704 oblique sailing1704 orthodromics1704 right sailing1704 parallel sailing1705 orthodromy1706 plane sailing1749 composite sailing1850 loxodromy1855 radio navigation1926 hyperbolic navigation1945 satnav1970 hyperbolic system1972 1595 J. Davis Seamans Secrets i. sig. A1 Great Circle Navigation, which teacheth how vpon a great Circle drawn betweene any 2. places assigned,..the Ship may be conducted. 1652 H. Phillippes Geom. Sea-man 48 You may sail by the arch of a great Circle. 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Order of sailing Hence we say..parallel and great circle sailing. 1850 J. Greenwood Sailor's Sea-bk. 50 In 1561, Cortez..advocated the adoption of Great Circle Sailing, in opposition to that by Plumb-lines. c. Photography. circle of confusion, (also in Physics) circle of least confusion: see quots. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > type of focusing depth of field1855 circle of least confusion1867 flatness of field1867 infinity1867 register1890 fixed focus1892 back focus1897 circle of confusion1906 isocentre1931 split-field1941 split-image1950 1867 T. Sutton & G. Dawson Dict. Photogr. 57 Circle of least confusion, the nearest approach to a focus of a pencil after oblique reflexion or refraction. 1903 C. Beck & H. Andrews Photogr. Lenses (ed. 2) iii. 58 When the screen reaches X the circle of illumination will be the smallest size attainable with the lens under consideration, the circle at this point is called the circle of least confusion. 1906 R. C. Bayley Compl. Photographer xii. 150 ‘Depth of focus’..depends upon the size of what is termed the ‘circle of confusion’. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 163/2 Circle of confusion, the minimum area of a focused bright point of light, the size of which determines the maximum definition possible with a given lens arrangement and stop. 1953 S. W. Amos & D. C. Birkinshaw Television Engin. i. ix. 173 Objects near the object plane give images which are only slightly blurred, points being reproduced as circles which are known as circles of confusion. 1958 H. J. Gray Dict. Physics 88/2 Circle of least confusion, circle through which all the rays over the aperture pass. 1961 A. L. M. Sowerby Dict. Photogr. (ed. 19) 120 It is usually assumed that a circle of confusion of ¹/ ₁₀₀ in. corresponds to the boundary between ‘sharp’ and ‘unsharp’ in a print held at the normal viewing distance of about 10 in. from the eye. 1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Circle of confusion, the indistinct circular patch formed by a lens representing the out-of-focus image of a single object point—called also blur circle. 1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Circle of least confusion (Physics), the minimum cross section of a symmetrical bundle of rays that have no common focus because of spherical aberration. 3. As a figure of magic or necromancy. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [noun] > sign or symbol used in characta1393 character1449 circle1529 triangle1584 post-writing1621 magic circle1654 sigil1659 hag track1836 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 120/1 Negromancers put their trust in their cercles, within which thei thinke them self sure against all y^e deuils in hel. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) v. ii. 291 If you would coniure in her, you must make a Circle . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. v. 56. 1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xii. 164 Many did use enchantments, invocations, circles, witchcrafts, soothsaying. 1717 C. Bullock Woman is Riddle iv. i. 44 I believe you'd raise the Devil to obtain a circle. a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 299 The magic circle of Fashion whirling them perpetually in a giddy round of unavailing trifles. 4. a. Formerly: the sphere or ‘heaven’ in which a heavenly body was supposed to revolve. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > sphere of ancient astronomy > [noun] > of particular body circle1340 spherec1374 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7640 Oboven us er alle þe planetes seven, And þe cercle of ilk ane es called ane heven. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 141 Ase he [saturne] deþ ine þritti yer ine his oȝene sercle and ine his oȝene yernnge. b. Now: the orbit of a planet or other body. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > heavenly body > movement of heavenly bodies > [noun] > movement in orbit > orbit runeeOE circlea1530 cycle1631 orbit1649 orb1733 a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxviii Y^e..sterres, hath..an other [motion] by y^e mouyng of the first orbe, whiche draweth them w^t him in his circle euery day. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 4038 The sun in his serkyll set in þe last, Passyng fro pisshes. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 746 Hee thought the Sunne, would soner haue fallen from his circle. 1611 Bible (King James) Wisd. xiii. 2 The swift aire, or the circle of the stars. View more context for this quotation 1842 Ld. Tennyson Love & Duty in Poems (new ed.) II. 84 The Sun will run his orbit, and the Moon Her circle. 1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VII. ii. lx. 433 Thrice nine days, a full circle of the moon. 5. The orb of a heavenly body. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > heavenly body > [noun] > orb circle1769 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 578 Amid the Suns bright circle where thou sitst. View more context for this quotation] 1769 J. Home Fatal Discov. iv Sunk in the western wave, The Sun but half his glorious circle shews. 1821 Ld. Byron Cain ii. i, in Sardanapalus 374 Yon small blue circle, swinging in far ether. 6. A luminous ring in the sky, a halo. circle of Ulloa: a luminous ring or white rainbow sometimes appearing in alpine regions opposite the sun during foggy weather (named after Antonio Ulloa in 18th cent.) ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > luminous appearance > [noun] > aureole circlea1123 hale1440 brough1496 burrow1499 halo1563 shine1581 burr1631 broucha1657 glory1693 aureole1858 Scheiner's halo1983 a1123 Anglo-Saxon Chron. anno 1104 On þam Tiwæs dæge þæræfter ætywdan feower circulas..Onbutan þære sunnan hwites hiwes. 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 17^v Such Meteores, whose matter is most of the aire. Of this sort be..circles, raynbowes. 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 34 The Circle called Halon, is a garland of diuerse collours that is seen about the sunne, the Moone, or any other sterre. 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 35 A great Circle about the Moone, betokeneth great colde and frost to follow after. 1815 T. I. M. Forster Res. Atmosph. Phænom. (ed. 2) ii. 99 Halones are called Lunar or Solar... They are generally pretty correct circles. 7. a. Applied to ring-like markings; e.g. to fairy-rings. white circle n. old name of the Milky way. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > constellation > galaxy > [noun] > Milky Way wayeOE Watling Streetc1384 galaxya1398 milky circlea1398 Milky Wayc1450 milk way1555 milk-white way1555 white circle1563 milken waya1586 milken race1596 milk circle1601 Via Lactea1615 lacteous circle1646 Milky Way1854 Walsingham Wayc1878 the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > fairy or elf > [noun] > fairy-ring circle1563 fairy ring1600 roundelaya1635 fairy circlea1678 mushroom ring1807 pixie ring1837 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 17^v Y^e white circle, called of som watling strete. 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 38 The milke way, is a whyte circle seen in a cleare night. 1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors v. f. 68^v Those round circles, which are seen in many fieldes, that ignoraunt people affirme to be the rynges of the fayries danses. 1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. O4^v More..creases..in his face, than there be Fairie circles on Salsburie Plaine. a1799 Withering in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 97 135 The bare and brown, or highly cloathed and verdant circles in pasture fields called Fairy-rings. b. A dark circular mark around or beneath the eyes, noticeable esp. in delicate or sick persons, or in persons who have slept badly. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > discoloration > circles round eyes blue eyea1545 circle1847 ring1850 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 118 Her face might be a trifle paler, and the circles round her eyes a little blacker than usual. 1893 ‘S. Grand’ Heavenly Twins III. v. iv. 60 There were great black circles round his sunken eyes. 1906 J. Galsworthy Man of Prop. ii. xi. 244 There were circles under her eyes, as though she had not slept. 1932 A. Christie Peril at End House vi. 75 The circles under her eyes were darker than usual. †8. Medicine. The highest ‘region’ of urine. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > urine > [noun] > parts or substances of circle1541 garland1547 urohaematin1863 urochrome1864 urobilin1876 midstream1962 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) 87 b In urine, being in a vessell apt therunto to be sene, are thre regions..The hyghest region is the cerkle. 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines i. i. 51 If they compasse and enuiron but the halfe of the circle or garland, then do they argue a paine in one side of the head. II. As a thing material. 9. A ring, circlet, annulet. ΚΠ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xi. 22 A goldene cercle in the nose thirlis..of a souwe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8242 Quen it was closid aboute, þat tre A siluer cerkil sone naylede he. c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xiv. 86 A cerkil was Sene..as of Bras. 10. a. A band encircling the head; a crown, coronet, diadem. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > symbol of office or authority > regalia > [noun] > crown kine-helmOE crownOE diademc1290 garlandc1330 circlea1340 the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > jewellery worn on the head > [noun] > coronet or circlet mindOE crownOE diademc1290 coronalc1330 circlea1340 garland?a1366 coronaclea1400 crowneta1425 crownalc1443 chapleta1464 circlet1481 cronet1519 cronicle1569 graundcie1592 anadem1598 coronet1599 carcanet1602 frontlet1610 circuita1616 rosary1651 tiar1660 tiara1718 ferronière1831 a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xx. 3 Þe whilk ere about him til his fairehed, as a cercle in a mannys heued. 1460 Lybeaus Disc. 841 A sercle upon her molde, Of stones and of golde. 1600 T. Dekker Old Fortunatus sig. B2 These browes fill vp The golden circle of rich Portugall. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) v. i. 2 Thus haue I yeelded vp into your hand The Circle of my glory View more context for this quotation a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1661 (1955) III. 277 The Barons put of their caps & circles. 1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Apr. (1965) I. 327 The Headress is..bound on..with a circle of Di'monds. 1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Piccolomini iii. i. 134 In his dream of hope, he grasps already The golden circle. †b. A band or wreath surmounting or encircling a knight's helmet. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > helmet > [noun] > circlet coronalc1325 circlec1330 c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 3857 An helme he haþ on him don..The sercle of gold þer-on was wrouȝt. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1600 Þe cercles þat were on hur helmes set of perre y-mad & golde. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xiv. 220 He made sheeldes shiver fro nekkes, and helmes from hedes, that the serkeles fly a-sonder. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) ix. 24 He stroke Charlot on the helme in suche wyse that the serkell nor coyfe of stele cowd not defende hym. 11. a. The ring of a circus. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > circus performance > [noun] > circus arena > ring circle1623 circus-ring1869 1623 W. Sclater Quæstion of Tythes 184 Thou shalt not goe to the Circle or Theatre. 1768 Lady M. W. Montagu Poems (1785) 25 Plays, operas, circles I no more must view! 1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 201 Whose partially corked eyebrows, and half rouged face, testify to the fact of his having just left the stage or the circle. b. One of the galleries or tiers of seats in a theatre; the lowest, containing the most expensive seats, is called the dress circle; that above, the upper circle or family circle. ΚΠ 1878 N. Amer. Rev. 127 484 There they sit in splendid array, in the dress-circle, close to the royal box. 12. Archaeology. A series of stones set up in a ring, such as those at Avebury and Stonehenge. ΘΚΠ society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > stone > circle carol1330 stone circlea1722 circle1772 1772 T. Pennant Tours Scotl. (1774) 180 These circles were formed for religious purposes. 1847 J. Yeowell Chron. Anc. Brit. Church xii. 136 A large block of hewn granite, such as the Druids used for forming their circles. 1861 Sat. Rev. 7 Sept. 253 The well-known Druidical circle of Arborlow. 1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. vi. 172 The venerable circle of Abury, perhaps the most interesting of our great national monuments. 13. The name of various instruments. Categories » a. Astronomy. An instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle, as mural circle, reflecting circle, repeating circle, transit circle (see mural n.¹, etc.). Also, horary circle, a metal circle on a globe, marked with the hours, and shewing the difference of meridians in time. b. in Bookbinding: (see quot. 1837). ΚΠ 1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades (1842) 37 The letters and ornaments are engraved in relievo on the points of punches or on the edges of circles of brass. 14. Anatomy. circles of Haller: the fibro-cartilaginous rings to which the mitral and tricuspid valves of the heart are attached. circle of Willis: see quot. 1840. ΚΠ 1840 G. V. Ellis Demonstr. Anat. 20 By the anastomosis of the internal carotid and basilar arteries at the base of the brain, they give rise to an arterial circle..named the circle of Willis. †15. See quot. c1440 and snail n.¹ Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > movable shed sow1297 mantel1357 snail1408 vinet1408 whelk1408 circlec1440 barbed-cat1489 mantle1489 mantlet1524 vine1565 tortoise1569 sow-guard1582 penthouse1600 penticle1600 target-roof1601 vinea1601 fence-roof1609 testudo1609 cat-house1614 vineyard1650 tortoiseshell1726 manta1829 cat1833 ram-house1850 tortoise-roof1855 bear1865 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 66 Cercle, clepyd the snayle, as of Pentys, and other lyke, spira. III. In transferred and figurative senses. 16. a. The circuit or compass of a place, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [noun] > circularity > a circle > circumference compass1340 circuita1382 roundnessa1382 circumference1393 circlea1400 round?a1500 circumstance1509 apsis1601 ambit1655 a1400 Pistel of Susan 10 Withinne þe sercle of sees. c1440 Gesta Romanorum xix. 65 How many daies iourney beth in þe sercle of the world? c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 11682 Hit is keppit..Within the cercle of the Cité. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) v. ii. 136 To whip this dwarfish warre, this Pigmy Armes From out the circle of his Territories. View more context for this quotation 1666 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 14 The poor inhabitants were dispersed about St. George's Fields, and Moorfields, as far as Highgate, and several miles in circle. b. (With capital initial.) The name given to a line on the Underground railway in London; the ‘Inner Circle’ (cf. inner adj.). ΘΚΠ society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > forming part of a system > specific underground line Inner Circle1869 circle1886 1886 H. Baumann Londinismen 26/1 Circle..Londoner Eisenbahn: Circle trains, Züge der unterirdischen Bahn. 1903 Punch 30 Sept. 231 Uncle Jack is coming to meet us by a Circle Train. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 7 Nov. 10/3 The only chance for the effective working of the ‘Circle’ lay in the arrangements being taken over entirely by one of the two companies. 1955 ‘W. Mole’ Hammersmith Maggot v. 60 Perry walked primly down to the Circle platform... He took the eastbound Circle train. 1970 G. Lord Marshmallow Pie v. 53 They went down on the platform to wait for the Circle Line train. 17. Thesaurus » a. A completed revolution or course of time, or of action, or events in time; a cycle, period. b. ‘Any series ending as it begins, and perpetually repeated’ (Johnson); a round. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > [noun] > a series or succession > series ending as it begins circlec1475 cycle1662 c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 77 If ani be in possessioun of oþer mennis þingis by a cercle of ȝeris, he shal ioi it as his oune. 1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 6, in 2nd Pt. Herball I heare saye that in diuers circles or goynges aboute of yeares, the nature of the bathes is sharper. 1648 Bp. J. Hall Breathings Devout Soul xxv. 38 Lord God, What a wearisome circle do I walk in here below. 1690 W. Temple Ess. Anc. & Mod. Learning in Wks. (1731) I. 159 Science and Arts have run their Circles, and had their Periods in the several Parts of the World. 1709 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ (ed. 2) i. 73 And all the Hours obedient run The Circle of the Day. 1874 A. H. Sayce Princ. Compar. Philol. viii. 301 The circle of the year. c. See full circle adv. and adj. 18. A completed chain, series, or sequence of parts forming a connected whole. ΚΠ 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xiii. sig. Fviii^v The worlde of science, [or] the circle of doctrine, whiche is in one worde of greeke Encyclopedia. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 293. ¶3 If I thought the whole Circle of our Being was concluded between our Births and Deaths. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. 71 That nothing might be wanting to compleat the Circle of Pleasures in this City. 1854 (title) Orr's Circle of the Sciences: A Series of Treatises on the Principles of Science. 1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith vi. §1. 336 Every problem with its solution forms, when solved, a circle. 1869 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 2nd Ser. 155 The luminous circle of demonstrative truth. 19. Logic. A fallacious mode of reasoning, wherein a proposition is used to establish a conclusion, and afterwards proved by means of the conclusion which it has been employed to establish; so that, as in a circle, there is really no starting-point. Hence to reason in a circle or argue in a circle. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [noun] > logical fallacy > vicious circle circle1646 tautology1659 vicious circlec1792 vicious cycle1846 circulus vitiosus1902 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. iv. 14 The circle of this fallacie is very large. 1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. ii. lxxx You dispute in a Circle as all Logicians know. 1679 R. South Serm. Several Occasions 23 This he explodes as a circle, and so derides it. 1725 I. Watts Logick iii. iii. 472 That Sort of Fallacy which is called a Circle is very near akin to the Petitio Principii. 1837 R. Whately Elem. Logic 225 Arguing in a circle must necessarily be unfair, though it is frequently practised undesignedly. 1876 E. Mellor Priesthood iv. 161 The authority of the law is demanded, and he [Cardinal Wiseman] cites the disputed passage. A more palpable and vicious circle was never devised. 20. A number of persons standing or seated round a person or object of interest; ‘an assembly surrounding the principal person’ (Johnson), as at Court, at a Drawing-room or Levée, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of people > round a person or thing circle1714 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > [noun] > arrangement in a group > a circular group of people ringOE round1489 rotund1636 circle1766 round O1845 1714 London Gaz. No. 5271/2 The Queen has had a Circle every Evening. 1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. i. 34 Casting..maternal regards..through the pretty smiling circle. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 291 A splendid circle of English nobles and statesmen stood round the throne. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 47 There was also a circle of lookers on. 21. a. A number of persons united by acquaintance, common sentiments, interests, etc.; a ‘set’ or coterie; a class or division of society, consisting of persons who associate together. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > [noun] > social group > exclusive sect1608 circle1646 coterie1738 circuit1752 set1780 in-group1906 the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [noun] > state of being acquainted > acquaintance > those with whom one is acquainted couthc1000 kithc1000 knownc1350 knowledge1389 kithinga1400 acquaintancea1425 circle1646 sphere1839 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. ix. 36 I shall have reason and experience of every circle to support me. 1752 H. Fielding Covent-Garden Jrnl. 13 Aug. 1/2 He quotes the Phrases, a polite Circle, the Circle of one's Acquaintance, People that live within a certain Circle. 1793 J. Boswell Life Johnson (ed. 2) I. Advt. p. xiv The felicity which he diffused through a wide circle of admirers and friends. 1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice I. xviii. 212 It is evident that you belong to the first circles . View more context for this quotation 1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. xix. 229 Threw a real gloom over their domestic circle . View more context for this quotation 1878 W. Black Green Pastures ii. 16 Don't you think that one ought to try to understand what is going on outside one's immediate circle? 1880 L. Stephen Alexander Pope viii. 195 The staple talk of the circles in which he moved. 1885 Manch. Examiner 12 Aug. 5/4 The death of Lord Houghton..will leave a blank in political, social, and literary circles. b. spec. = séance n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the occult > spiritualism > [noun] > seance séance1845 sitting1851 circle1856 session1858 spooking1919 1856 Spiritual Herald May 124 I attended three public circles in the spirit-house of Mr. Koons. 1864 R. Browning Dramatis Personæ (ed. 2) 179 David holds the circle... Sets to the spirit-writing, hears the raps. 1867 J. H. Powell title Mediumship:..with brief instructions for the formation of Spirit-Circles. 1926 A. Conan Doyle Hist. Spiritualism II. xviii. 111 The process at work in the formation of ectoplasm at a circle. 22. Historical. A territorial divison of Germany under the Holy Roman Empire. Also a secondary division in certain German and Slavonic provinces. [German Kreis, French cercle.] ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > in Germany circle1675 amt1694 peasantry1762 gau1845 1675 London Gaz. No. 980/2 400 Men of the Circle of Saxony. 1675 London Gaz. No. 1040/2 The Troops of the Circles have already passed the Rhine. 1700 J. Astry tr. D. de Saavedra Fajardo Royal Politician I. Pref. The most Serene House and Circle of Burgundy. 1712 London Gaz. No. 4993/1 Those of the Electoral Circle of the Rhine are met. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 347 The Austrian Netherlands..were considered as a circle of the empire. 1865 S. Baring-Gould Bk. Were-wolves xiv. 239 In the circle of Tornow, in Western Galicia—the province is divided into nine circles. 23. A non-material region or realm marked off, as a circle is by its circumference; the area over which anything is conceived of as acting or exerting influence. Cf. sphere n. 7b. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > [noun] > sphere or scope of operation circuity1542 circuit1597 orb1598 range1622 sphere1661 circle1664 random1667 purview1688 domain1764 purvey1813 preserve1829 scope1830 demesne1851 coverage1930 space1976 1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. C3 To be within the circle of possibilities. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 196. ⁋7 If he adventures into the circle of action. 1844 E. B. Browning Drama of Exile in Poems I. 48 The circle of God's life Contains all life beside. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles & St. James (new ed.) xv, in Writings I. 149 Whether it was in the circle of probability for one so respectably born, etc. 1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 13 All around Nature, and inside her circle. †24. to give the lie in circle: i.e. circuitously, indirectly. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist iii. iv. sig. G4 Face... Rules, To giue, and take the Lie, by. Kas. How? to take it? Face. Yes, in oblique, hee'll shew you; or in circle: But neuer in diameter. View more context for this quotation a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Queene of Corinth iv. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Bbbbbb4/2 Has he given the lye In circle, or oblique, or semy-circle, Or direct paralell? Compounds C1. Generalattributive. a. circle-parade n. ΚΠ 1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 43 On the Use of the Circle Parade. circle-squarer n. ΚΠ 1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight xvi. 174 So with the circle-squarers, perpetual motion discoverers. circle-squaring n. b. circle-branching adj. ΚΠ 1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. E3 A circle-braunching tree. circle-like adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > [adjective] > circular trendledc1220 circle-likea1420 circular1430 compass?1523 compassed1551 circled1578 circuled1582 orbal1603 circulary1610 wheely1708 spherical1730 encircular1806 sphered1820 wheeled1820 moony1836 wheel-shaped1895 a1420 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 184 Cerclelyk shappe is most perfite figure. 1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 39 Crowtoe..His roote circlelike or round. circle-spread adj. ΚΠ 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. v. 191 Their circle spred tops. C2. circle-cutter n. (see quots.) ΚΠ 1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 197/1 Circle cutter, an optician's tool with a diamond on the arm, for cutting circles in thin glass for covers for objects on slides. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 254 Circle cutter;..a cutter..pressing out circular shapes from sheet metal for lids, trays, etc. circle-iron n. (see quot.). ΚΠ 1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 554/1 Circle-iron, a hollow punch for cutting planchets, wads, wafers, and circular blanks; A fifth wheel. † circle-mure v. Obsolete = circummure v. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)] > enclose with a wall wall1297 mure?a1425 upwallc1440 enwall1523 dikec1575 immure1605 circle-mure1606 circummurea1616 immurala1680 1606 N. Baxter Sir Philip Sydneys Ouránia sig. I2 Circle-muring strong their pettie fort With Pallazado Flanker Loop and Porte. circle-reading n. (see quots.) ΚΠ 1878 S. Newcomb Pop. Astron. 156 The mean of the results from the four microscopes is called the circle-reading. circle-rider n. U.S. a cowboy engaged in circle-riding. ΚΠ 1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Apr. 860/1 As soon as..the last circle-riders have come in..we begin to work the herd. 1926 D. Branch Cowboy & his Interpreters 56 In rough country where each little ravine must be searched and each knoll circled, each group of ‘circle riders’ would be smaller than groups in unbroken plains country. circle-riding n. U.S. a method of gathering in cattle (see quot.). ΚΠ 1888 T. Roosevelt in Cent. Mag. Apr. 857/2 This morning work is called circle riding... As the band goes out, the leader from time to time detaches one or two men to ride.., making the shorter, or what are called inside, circles, while he keeps on, and finally..makes the longest or outside circle himself. circle-tomb n. (see quot.: cf. 12). ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > types of tomb > [noun] > types of ancient or prehistoric table tomb1738 well tomb1843 chamber tomb1850 passage grave1865 allée couverte1870 passage tomb1870 mastaba1882 tholos1885 beehive tomb1887 circle-tomb1889 shaft tomb1895 shaft-grave1910 pit-cave1921 gallery grave1937 dyss1938 1889 Athenæum May 4 576 In one of the circle-tombs peculiar to the necroplis of that place [Vetulonia] (so called because surrounded by a rude stone circle). Draft additions 1997 A crop circle (see crop n. Compounds 2). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land raising crops > [noun] > land on which crop is flattened circle1980 crop circle1988 corn circle1989 1980 Now! 29 Aug. 21/3 I have never seen marks cut as deeply as these recent circles. The spiral effect is important. 1982 G. T. Meaden in Jrnl. Meteorol. 7 lxvi. 47 As with the Westbury ‘circles’..,the circles are all clockwise spirals. 1987 Flying Saucer Rev. xxxii. vi 12/2 While we continue to use the term ‘circles’ in general, very few of them are actually perfectly round. 1993 J. Schnabel Round in Circles vi. 65 [He] began to assert in his confident, somewhat headmasterish manner that the circles were definitely caused by whirlwinds, and that any other theory was foolish and misguided and unscientific. Draft additions April 2011 Originally U.S. to run (also do, etc.) circles round (also around): to surpass with ease; to outclass; cf. to run rings round at ring n.¹ 16d. Also with other verbs: to outperform easily in the specified activity. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)] > so completely as to be in different class outclass1870 to run circles round1897 1897 Syracuse (N.Y.) 4 July 9/6 The speedy Herreshoff flyer..has for four years been facile princeps on the river. She could run circles around any of the craft running between Clayton and the Bay. 1906 McClure's Mag. July 229/2 That old road engine? We could do circles 'round him. Wait till we meet a decent car. 1912 Sunset Mar. 286/2 My girl could sing circles around a sky lark. 1916 in J. London On Makaloa Mat 198 In a hundred yards the world champion could invariably beat him a second flat; but over a distance of miles he could swim circles around the champion. 1947 J. Godden House by Sea iv. iii. 208 I will make circles round them, I promise you, and they will go away with their tails between their legs, no wiser than when they came. 1959 A. Abbs Ashanti Boy v. 173 With his brain..he'll be able to run circles round everybody as he goes up that school. 1985 P. Auster N.Y. Trilogy (1988) i. x. 98 In spite of his inane malapropisms, he can talk circles around everyone else. 2008 S. Augarde Winter Wood (2009) ii. 24 Quick-thinking, tap-dancing Azzie, who could run circles round this lot, physically and verbally, before they'd have time to blink. Draft additions October 2001 circle change n. Baseball a slow pitch used as a changeup, in which a pitcher bends the forefinger into the thumb before throwing the ball from the palm (see quot. 1992). ΚΠ 1985 Los Angeles Times 18 Oct. vi. 20/1 Did anyone really yearn to hear detailed analysis of the circle change-up?... Or that the circle change-up is a half screwball, but not a true screwball?] 1988 Chicago Tribune 21 Sept. iv. 4/4 The circle change has replaced the split-fingered fastball..as the glamor pitch of the '80s. 1992 N. Ryan & J. Jenkins Miracle Man xiii. 159 I did develop what's called a circle change, where you use your forefinger and thumb to form a circle and hold the ball in your palm. As you release the ball, you keep the thumb and forefinger touching.., causing the ball to slide out of your hand and off your remaining three fingers. 2001 Arlington (Texas) Morning News (Electronic ed.) 20 Feb. He now relies on a low-90s four-seam fastball, a slow curveball and a circle-change. Draft additions June 2020 circle dance n. any of various (esp. traditional, folk, or religious) dances in which the dancers form a circle.Cf. round dance n. 1(a), ring dance n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > round dance > [noun] carolc1300 carolingc1300 roundc1487 ring dancea1522 round dance1530 ringlet1600 roundel1600 round game1611 circle dance1821 ronde1823 ring play1856 1821 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 10 147/1 Next this act follows a national circle dance, the landlord leads the first pair, with one of the rustic Floras, his guests and peasants behind him. 1923 W. O. E. Oesterley Sacred Dance iii. 37 The theory of some scholars that the circle dance was a symbolic representation of the movement of the heavenly bodies has..a good deal to commend it. 2013 New Yorker 11 Nov. 79/3 The young people often join hands and do the carola, a circle dance born of the Middle Ages. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022). circlev. Brit. /ˈsəːkl/, U.S. /ˈsərk(ə)l/ Forms: Middle English cercle(n, sercle(n, serkle, serklyn, 1500s circkle, cirkle, 1500s– circle. Etymology: < circle n.; or < French cercler . Compare also circule v. 1. a. transitive. To surround or encompass with, or as with, a circle; to enclose in a circle; = encircle v. 1 (Now chiefly poetic). ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surrounding > surround or lie around [verb (transitive)] befong971 beclipc1000 begoc1000 belieOE bestandc1000 to go about ——OE umbegangc1200 behema1250 befallc1275 berunc1275 girdc1290 bihalvena1300 umlapa1300 umlaya1300 umlouka1300 umbegoc1300 belayc1320 halsea1340 enclose1340 umbelapa1350 embracec1360 betrendc1374 circlec1374 umbecasta1375 to give about1382 environa1393 umbeclipa1395 compassa1400 encircle?a1400 enourle?a1400 umbegivea1400 umbeseta1400 umbeliec1400 umbetighc1400 enroundc1420 measurec1425 umbsteadc1450 adviron?1473 purprise1481 umbeviron1489 belta1500 girtha1500 overgirda1500 engirt15.. envirea1513 round?a1513 brace1513 umbereach1513 becompass1520 circuea1533 girtc1540 umbsetc1540 circule1553 encompass1555 circulate?a1560 ingyre1568 to do about1571 engird1573 circumdate1578 succinge1578 employ1579 circuate1581 girdle1582 wheel1582 circumgyre1583 enring1589 ringa1592 embail1593 enfold1596 invier1596 stem1596 circumcingle1599 ingert1599 engirdle1602 circulize1603 circumscribe1605 begirt1608 to go round1610 enwheela1616 surround1616 shingle1621 encirculize1624 circumviron1632 beround1643 orba1644 circumference1646 becircle1648 incircuitc1650 circumcinge1657 circumtend1684 besiege1686 cincture1789 zone1795 cravat1814 encincture1820 circumvent1824 begirdle1837 perambulate1863 cordon1891 c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 1717 That with his bond Love of his vertu liste To cerclen hertes alle and fast bynde. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3038 Hir ene..Serklyt with heris On the browes so bryght. a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Biv^v Whose head for crowne, with pyne circled alway, Wyth mysty cloudes. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. iv. 313 The emperiall mettall circling now thy brow. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 626 Of beaming sunnie Raies, a golden tiar Circl'd his Head. View more context for this quotation 1814 Monthly Mag. 38 32 I..circled a rice meadow with dikes. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 30 The town Flow'd in, and settling circled all the lists. b. with about, around, in. ΚΠ c1400 Rom. Rose 1619 So cerclith it the welle aboute. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iii. i. 275 You heauie people cirkle me about. View more context for this quotation 1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. v. 27 To limit and circle them in. a1667 A. Cowley To His Majesty The Sea which circles us around. 1861 D. G. Rossetti tr. Dante Vita Nuova in Early Ital. Poets ii. 303 Mine eyes..came at last to be circled about with red. †c. reflexive. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (reflexive)] circle1634 1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect To Rdr. sig. A3 Diogenes..circled himselfe in the circumference of a tubbe. 2. To make the circuit of, move round. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > cause to move in circle or curve [verb (transitive)] > move in circle round something umgoa1300 compassc1384 gyrec1420 environ?a1425 circuitc1550 revolve1559 circle1582 to put (also make, cast) a girdle (round) about1600 encirclea1616 encompass1640 whirla1657 circulate1685 gird1688 circumgyrate1868 society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct (one's course, steps, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > make circuit of viron1382 compassc1384 umbecastc1400 circuea1450 circuitc1550 circle1582 circum-pass1588 round1591 surround1638 encompass1640 circumvent1840 circuitize1846 to make or go the circuit ofa1876 girdle1901 orbit1946 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis iii. 57 It wyl bee saulfer..far streicts crabbye to circle. 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 170 The Lords, that were appointed to circle the Hill. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 65 Thrice the Equinoctial Line He circl'd . View more context for this quotation 1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 196 Other planets circle other suns. 1774 J. Bryant New Syst. (new ed.) I. 382 They circled the island seven times. 1848 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 64 170 Stalking a ‘blesbok’ or circling a bustard—the latter process consisting in riding round the birds in large but decreasing circles. 3. a. intransitive. To move in a circle (around, about, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement in circle or curve > move in a circle or curve [verb (intransitive)] > move in a circle to go aboutOE whirlc1290 circule1430 circlec1440 to cast, fet, fetch, go, take a compass?a1500 circuit1611 circumgyre1634 revolve1660 circulate1672 orba1821 circumvolve1841 to loop the loop1902 orbit1948 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 453/2 Serklyn, or make a sercle, Circulo. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. iv. sig. Q2 She [a hawk]..went circkling, & compassing about, rising so with the lesse sence of rising. 1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 15 One of the highest arks that human contemplation circling upward, can make. 1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 203 The busy whisper circling round Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd. 1870 R. A. Proctor Other Worlds than Ours ii. 44 The orbs which circle around the sun. b. Said of wine, etc. passing round the table. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > providing or serving drink > [verb (intransitive)] > be circulated reela1500 walk1563 troll-the-bowl1575 trolla1627 go1698 circle1725 circulate1882 1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. ii. 282 While the bowl circles, and the banquet warms. 1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles v. xxxiv. 217 The mazers four..Thrice let them circle round the board. c. Military. Of cavalry: To sweep round on a moving flank over a more or less wide circle; whereas the ‘wheeling’ of infantry is done on a fixed flank as pivot, and on as little ground as possible. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [verb (intransitive)] > cavalry manoeuvre march1594 circle1716 1716 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad II. viii. 410 Guards as he turns, and circles as he wheels. 1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 142 A close column must loosen its divisions before it can well march in front, and its changes of direction must be made circling, and on a moving flank. 1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 196 To move up rapidly, and circle round each other, and the enemy's flank. 1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. iv. 146 The opposing Files should also circle ‘Right’. 4. a. intransitive. To form a circle; to stand or extend in a circle. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > be or become round [verb (intransitive)] > form a circle circule1603 circle1613 the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > other specific arrangements > be arranged in other specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > in a circle ringa1500 circle1613 1613 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals I. iii. 55 A tuft of Trees grew circl'ing in a rancke. 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad iii. 108 Those plains, immensely circling, feel his beams. 1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake v. 228 That proud ring Of peers who circled round the King. †b. reflexive. To extend in a circle. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > shape > curvature > roundness > make round [verb (reflexive)] > form into circle circle1672 1672 N. Grew Anat. Veg. vii. 176 The main Branches in the outer Coat of a Kernel, circling themselves on both hands from the place of their first entrance. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022). > as lemmas circle (in Milton equinoctial road) 1. Pertaining to a state of equal day and night. equinoctial line, circle (in Milton equinoctial road), the celestial or terrestrial equator. Cf. B. 1, A. 2 equinoctial point = equinox n. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > time > day and night > [adjective] > relating to a state of equal day and night equinoctialc1400 c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §25. 35 Tak his nethere elongacioun lengthing fro the same equinoxial lyne. ?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. Bii So haue we sayled ouer y^e linie equinocciall. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 39 There is ane vthir circle of the spere callit, the circle equinoctial. 1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Bv For vnder the lyne equynoctyall..lyeth..greate and wyde desertes. 1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. iv. xxvi. 318 The diurnal revolution is from the motion of the Earth, by which the Æquinoctial Circle is described about it. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 672 Som say the Sun Was bid turn Reines from th' Equinoctial Rode. View more context for this quotation 1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. ii. § 29. 305 To determine the places of the Stars in respect of the Equinoctial and Solstitial points. 1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India I. ii. ix. 420 The origin of the Indian zodiac did not coincide with the equinoxial point. 1837 D. Brewster Treat. Magnetism 238 The magnetic equator will meet the equinoctial line only in two points. extracted from equinoctialadj.n. < n.c1000v.c1374 as lemmas
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circlen.

Compounds

Draft additions 1997

Draft additions April 2011

Draft additions October 2001

Draft additions June 2020

circlev.

> as lemmas