circle

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
  2. noun an unofficial association of people or groups
  3. noun something approximating the shape of a circle

Etymology

From Middle English circle, cercle, from Old French cercle and Latin circulus, diminutive of Latin circus (“circle, circus”), from Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring”), related to Old English hring (“ring”). Compare also Old English ċircul (“circle, zodiac”), which came from the same Latin source. By surface analysis, Latin circ(us) + -(u)le.

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