h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi

I am not a Latin scolar but I am sure I heard Stephen Fry say (so it must be true)tha 'circa' should only be used in relation to dates and times and so on. Now that i beleive this to be true I get annoyed when others use it to mean 'approximately', for instance, a piece of land circa 15 acres.

So, my question is; should circa only be used in realtion to dates and times - if so whay and what is the root?

I have tried to research this but online examples do only refer to dates/times but the rooot is from 'circus' meaning within?

As I said, I am not a Latin scolar so please be gentle.

Thanks and regards

David

This page has all you ever wanted to know about circa

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%238085


Both prepositional uses that you have described are listed on the page, along with examples:

"In time, designating nearness, proximity to a definite point of time, about..." e.g.,
"postero die circa eandem horam in eundem locum rex copias admovit" (= The following day at about the same time the king moved his troops to the same place),

and,

"In numerical designations, about, nearly, almost"
"circa decem milia Persarum" (= about 10,000 Persians)

So the Romans used it both ways, but we are not Romans, and we do not speak Latin*. To get the full story on the usage of "circa" in English (and this is a question of English, not Latin, usage, whatever the origin of the word) you should go to the library and look in the Oxford English Dictionary.

*Actually, for all I know, you might be a Roman. And I do sometimes speak Latin. But you know what I mean.

Thanks BG

Now I have to recondition myself not to get annoyed

DB