circle | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

135 entries found.

mid-15c., "turn (something) away (from something else); rotate" (transitive), "cause to revolve;" also "go in a circle, turn round" (intransitive), from Old French girer and directly from Latin gyrare, verb derived from gyrus "circle, circular course, round, ring" (see gyre (n.)). Related: Gyred; gyring.

clachan (n.)

"small village" (Scottish and Irish), early 15c., from Gaelic clach (plural clachan) "stone," originally perhaps "a stone circle."

diameter (n.)

late 14c., in geometry, "chord of a circle or sphere which passes through its center; the length of a diameter," from Old French diametre, from Latin diametrus, from Greek diametros (gramme) "diagonal of a circle," from dia "across, through" (see dia-) + metron "a measure" (from PIE root *me- (2) "to measure").

yuan (n.)

Chinese unit of currency introduced 1914, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle."

unicycle (n.)

1869, American English, from Latin uni- "one" (see uni-) + -cycle, from bicycle (from Greek kyklos "circle, wheel").

encyclical (adj.)

in reference to ecclesiastical letters meant for wide circulation (for example, a letter sent by a pope to all bishops), 1640s, from Late Latin encyclicus, from Latin encyclius, from Greek enkyklios "in a circle, circular," from en "in" (see in) + kyklos "circle" (from PIE root *kwel- (1) "revolve, move round"). As a noun, from 1837.

yen (n.1)

Japanese monetary unit, 1875, from Japanese yen, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle, dollar."

amphigory (n.)

"burlesque nonsense writing or verse," 1809, from French amphigouri (18c.), which is of unknown origin, perhaps itself a nonsense word, though the first element seems to suggest Greek amphi (see amphi-). The second sometimes is said to be Greek gyros "circle," making the whole thus "circle on both sides," or it may be from Greek -agoria "speech" (as in allegory, category). Related: Amphigoric.

gyrate (v.)

"move in a circle or spiral," 1763 (implied in gyrated), back-formation from gyration. Related: Gyrated; gyrating.

roundelay (n.)

"song in which a line or refrain is continually repeated," 1570s, from French rondelet, diminutive of rondel "short poem with a refrain," literally "small circle," diminutive of Old French rond "circle, sphere," originally an adjective from roont (see round (adj.), and compare rondel). With spelling assimilated to lay (n.1) "poem to be sung."

Page 3

Trending words