# circa
## English
### Alternative forms

* ca., ca, or c.; rarely cca., cir. or circ. (abbreviations)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circa.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈsɜːkə/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈsɝkə/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)kə
* Hyphenation: cir‧ca

### Preposition

circa
* Approximately, about, around (typically in relation to time)
    Julius Caesar visited this area circa 50 BC.

#### See also

* circum-

### Anagrams

* ARCIC, Ricca, craic

## Czech
### Alternative forms

* cirka

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈt͡sɪrka]

### Adverb

circa
* circa, approximately
    Synonym: cca

### Further reading

* “circa”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “circa”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Dutch
### Alternative forms

* ca.
* c.

### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circa.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈsɪr.kaː/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: cir‧ca

### Preposition

circa
* circa: about, approximately

### Adverb

circa
* circa: about, approximately
    Synonyms: grofweg, pakweg, omstreeks, ongeveer, plusminus, ruwweg, zo'n, pak hem beet

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circa.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /siʁ.ka/

### Preposition

circa
* approximately, about

## German
### Alternative forms

* zirka

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈt͡sɪʁka]
* Audio:(file)

### Adverb

circa
* circa
    Synonyms: etwa, ungefähr

### Further reading

* “circa” in Duden online
* “circa” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
* “circa” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

## Italian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circā.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈt͡ʃir.ka/
* Rhymes: -irka
* Hyphenation: cìr‧ca

### Preposition

circa
* regarding, concerning

### Adverb

circa
* about, approximately

### Anagrams

* craci, ricca

## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈkir.kaː/, [ˈkɪrkäː]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈt͡ʃir.ka/, [ˈt͡ʃirkä]

### Etymology 1

A later form for circum, or from circum + eā.
The accusative is from the adverbial derivation.

#### Adverb

circā (not comparable)
* around; about
* on both sides

#### Preposition

circā (+ accusative)
* around; near; about
** 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.7:Circa advenam manifestae reum caedisaround the stranger accused of open murder
* regarding, concerning
** 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Ephesii.6.22:quem misi ad vos in hoc ipsum ut cognoscatis quae circa nos sunt et consoletur corda vestraWhom I have sent to you for this very thing, so that you can know things that are about us, and so that he can comfort your hearts.

##### Related terms

* circātor
* circus

##### Descendants

* Asturian: cerca, cierca
* Catalan: cerca, circa
* Dutch: circa
* English: circa
* French: circa
* German: circa
* Italian: circa
* Norwegian Bokmål: cirka
* Portuguese: cerca
* Romanian: circa
* Sicilian: circa
* Spanish: cerca, circa

##### References

* “circa”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “circa”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* "circa", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* circa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* circa in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
* Online Latin dictionary, Olivetti

### Etymology 2

Ultimately related to etymology 1. Sense 4 is only attested in the form cerca(s); see there for more.

#### Noun

circa f (genitive circae); first declension (Medieval Latin)
* patrol, watch
* episcopal visit
* inquiry, inquest
* defensive enclosure, moat

##### References

* ↑ Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976) “2. circa”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill, page 180
* ↑ Blaise, Albert (1975) “circa”, in Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs du moyen-âge: lexicon latinitatis medii aevi (Corpus christianorum) (overall work in Latin and French), Turnhout: Brepols, page 178

## Polish
### Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin circā.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈt͡sir.ka/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -irka
* Syllabification: cir‧ca

### Particle

circa
* (literary) circa, nearly, almost (in close approximation)
    Synonyms: blisko, koło, mniej więcej, niespełna, niemal, około, prawie, w przybliżeniu
    Na świecie żyje circa 9 mld ludzi. ― There are circa 9 billion people in the world.

### Further reading

* circa in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* circa in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circa.

### Adverb

circa
* approximately, about, or so
    Synonym: cam

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin circā.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Spain) /ˈθiɾka/ [ˈθiɾ.ka]
* IPA: (Latin America, Philippines) /ˈsiɾka/ [ˈsiɾ.ka]
* Rhymes: -iɾka
* Syllabification: cir‧ca

### Preposition

circa
* circa

### Further reading

* “circa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10