Lewis & Short

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† circŏs, i, m., = κιρκος (a top), a precious stone unknown to us, Plin. 37, 10, 56, § 153.

circum [properly acc. from circus = κίρκος], adv. and prep., designates either an entire encompassing or surrounding of an object, or a proximity only partially em. bracing or comprehending it, around, about, all around, περί, ἀμφί

  1. I. Adv.
    1. A. Around, round about, all around, etc., πέριξ: furcas circum offigito, Cato, R. R. 48, 2; Varr. R. R. 3, 14, 1; Verg A 3, 230: quia (locus) vastis circum saltibus claudebatur, Tac. A. 4, 25: molli circum est ansas amplexus acantho, Verg. E. 3, 45: age tu interim Da cito ab Delphio Cantharum circum, Plaut. Most. 1, 4, 33: quae circum essent opera tueri, Caes. B. C 2, 10: interea Rutuli portis circum omnibus instant, Verg. A. 10, 118 (i. e. circumcirca fusi: nam modo circum adverbium loci est, Serv.): omnem, quae nuno .umida circum Caligat, nu. bem eripiam, id. ib. 2, 605; Tib. 1, 3, 77; 1, 5, 11. sed circum tutae sub moenibus urbis aquantur, round about under the walls, Verg. G 4, 193. faciundum haras quadratas circum binos pedes, all around, i. e. on every side, two feet, Varr. R. R. 3, 10, 3 Schneid.
        1. b. Strengthened with undique (in later Latin also sometimes written as one word, circumundique), from everywhere around, around on all sides: circum Undique convenere, Verg. A. 4, 416; Lucr. 3, 404: clausis circum undique portis, Stat. S. 2, 5, 13; 5, 1, 155; id. Th. 2, 228: oppositu circumundique aliarum aedium, Gell. 4, 5, 3; 13, 24, 1; 14, 2, 9; so with totus and omnis, Varr. R. R. 3, 14, 1; Verg. A. 10, 118.
    2. B. Of an incomplete circuit, esp. of the part that meets the view, lies on the hither side, etc. (v. under II.): hostilibus circum litoribus, Tac. A. 2, 24: aestas … aperto circum pelago peramoena, id. ib. 4, 67: gentibus innumeris circum infraque relictis, Ov. M. 4, 668; Stat. Achill. 1, 56: corpus servans circumque supraque vertitur, id. Th. 9, 114; Albin. Carm. ap. Maecen. 46.
  2. II. Prep. with acc.
    1. A. Around, abow (implying a complete circuit): armillas quattuor facito, quas circum orbem indas, Cato, R. R. 21, 4: terra circum axem se summā celeritate convertit, Cic. Ac. 2, 39, 123; Quint. 2, 17, 19 Zumpt N. cr.: ligato circum collum sudario, Suet. Ner. 51: terque novas circum felix eat hostia fruges, Verg. G. 1, 345: at genitor circum caput omne micantes Deposuit radios, Ov. M. 2, 40.
    2. B. As in adv. B., of an incomplete circuit, about, upon, around, near: capillus sparsus, promissus, circum caput Rejectus neglegenter, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 49: flexo circum cava tempora cornu, Ov. M. 7, 313; 10, 116; 11, 159: tum Salii ad cantus incensa altaria circum adsunt, Verg. A. 8, 285: varios hic flumina circum Fundit humus flores, on the borders of the rivulets, id. E. 9, 40: urgeris turbā circum te stante, Hor. S. 1, 3, 135; cf. id. C. 2, 16, 33: circum renidentes Lares, id. Epod. 2, 66; Verg. G. 2, 484; cf. Luc. 2, 557: illi indignantes Circum claustra fremunt, Verg. A. 1, 56: oras et litora circum errantem, id. ib. 3, 75.
    3. C. Circum very freq. expresses, not a relative motion around a given central point, but an absol. circular movement, in which several objects named form separate points of a periphery, in, into, among … around, to … around, etc.: te adloquor, Quae circum vicinos vages, Plaut. Mil. 2, 5, 14: ego Arpini volo esse pridie Cal., deinde circum villulas nostras errare, not round about our villas, but in our villas around, Cic. Att. 8, 9, 3; cf Hor. S. 1, 6, 58: tum Naevius pueros circum amicos dimittit, to friends around, Cic. Quint. 6, 25; Suet. Ner. 47: cum praetorem circum omnia fora sectaretur, Cic. Verr 2, 2, 70, § 169: Apronius ducebat eos circum civitates, id. ib. 2, 3, 26, § 65: ille circum hospites cursabat, id. ib. 2, 4, 19, § 41: lenonem quondam Lentuli concursare circum tabernas, id. Cat. 4, 8, 17: dimissis circum municipia litteris, Caes. B. C. 3, 22: circum oram maritimam misit, ut, etc., Liv. 29, 24, 9: legatio sub idem tempus in Asiam et circum insulas missa, id. 42, 45, 1; Suet. Aug. 64; id. Caes. 41; id. Calig. 28; 41; Hor. S. 2, 3, 281; id. Ep 1, 1, 49: et te circum omnes alias irata puellas Differet, to or among all the other maidens around, Prop. 1, 4, 21
    4. D. With the prevailing idea of neighborhood, vicinity, in the environs of, in the vicinity of, at, near: circum haec loca commorabor, Cic. Att. 3, 17, 2; Pompei ib. 8, 12, C, 1 exercitu in foro et in omnibus templis, quae circum forum sunt, conlocato, Cic. Opt. Gen. 4, 10: urbes, quae circum Capuam sunt, id. Agr. 1, 7, 20: cum tot essent circum hastam illam, id. Phil. 2, 26, 64 Wernsd. N. cr.: non succurrit tibi, quamdiu circum Bactra haereas? Curt. 7, 8, 21, Tac. A. 4, 74.
    5. E. Of persons who surround one (as attendants, friends, etc.); in Gr.περι or ἀμφί τινα: paucae, quae circum illam essent, Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 33; Cic. Att. 9, 9, 4: omnium flagitiorum atque facinorum circum se tamquam stipatorum catervas habebat, Sall. C. 14, 1; cf. id. ib. 26, 4: Hectora circum, Verg. A. 6, 166.
      Circum pedes for ad pedes, of servants in attendance, is rare, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 36, § 92; v ad, I. D. 3. b.—
      Note: Circum is sometimes placed after its subst., Varr. L. L. 5, § 31 Müll., Lucr 1, 937; 4, 220; 6, 427; Cic. N. D. 2, 41, 105; Verg. E. 8, 12; 8, 74; 9, 40; id. A. 1, 32; 2, 515; 2, 564; 3, 75: 6, 166; 6, 329; 9, 440; Tib. 1, 1, 23; 1, 5, 51; Stat. Th. 3, 395.
  3. III. In composition the m remains unchanged before consonants; before vowels it was, acc. to Prisc. p. 567 P., and Cassiod. p. 2294 ib., written in like manner, but (except before j and v) not pronounced. Yet in the best MSS. we find the orthography circuitio, circuitus, and even circueo together with circumeo; cf. Neue, Formenl. 2, p. 736 sq.
    Signif.,
        1. a. Acc. to II. A.: circumcido, circumcludo, circumculco, circumfluo, circumfodio, circumfundo, etc.
        2. b. Acc. to II. B.: circumcolo, circumflecto, circumjaceo, circumicio.
        3. c. Acc. to II. C.: circumcellio, circumcurso, circumduco, circumfero, circumforaneus.
          In many compounds, circum has sometimes one and sometimes another signif., as in circumdo, circumeo, circumsisto, etc.; v. h. vv.—
          Note: With verbs compounded with circum, this preposition is never repeated before the following object; e. g. circumcursare circum aliquid and similar phrases are not found.

circus, i, m., = κίρκος [kindr. with κρίκος; Dor. κίρκος, and κορώνη; cf.: κυλινδέω, κυλλός, cirrus, curvus].

  1. I. A circular line, circle, in astronomy (less freq. than circulus): quot luna circos annuo in cursu institit, Att. ap. Non. p. 20, 28: circus lacteus, the Milky Way, Macr. Somn. Scip. 1, 15, 2; cf.: candens circus, Lacteus hic notatur, Cic. Arat. 248 (492): illum incolunt locum … erat autem is splendidissimo candore inter flammas circus elucens, id. Rep. 6, 16, 16 B. and K.: globus et circi zonaeque ac fulgida signa, Mart. Cap. 6, § 583.
  2. II. Circus Maximus, and more freq. κατ’ ἐξοχήν Circus, the oval circus built by Tarquinius Priscus between the Palatine and Aventine hills, which could contain more than one hundred thousand spectators. It was surrounded by galleries three stories high, and a canal called Euripus. Through its whole length, in the middle, a wall four feet high and about twelve broad was built, called spina, at the ends of which there were three columns upon one base (meta), around which the combatants were required to pass seven times before the prize was awarded. In the middle of the spina, Cæsar erected the obelisk, 132 feet high, brought from Egypt; cf. Dion. Hal. 3, 68; Dict. Antiq. p. 252 sqq.; Becker, Antiq. 1, p. 467 sq.
    Passages with Circus Maximus, Varr. L. L. 5, § 153 Müll.; id. R. R. 3, 13, 3; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 59, § 154; Vitr. 3, 3, 5; Liv. 1, 35, 8 sqq.; Ov. F. 2, 392; Plin. 30, 15, 24, § 102; Suet. Ner. 25; 27; Gell. 5, 14, 5 al.
    Circus Magnus, Ov. F. 6, 477; Plin. 36, 9, 14, § 71.
    Most freq. only Circus, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 58, 132; Cic. Leg. 2, 15, 38; id. Mur. 34, 72 sq.; id. Phil. 2, 43, 110; Liv. 1, 36, 2; 42, 10, 5; Tac. H. 1, 4; Quint. 1, 6, 45; Suet. Caes. 39; id. Aug. 43; 74; id. Calig. 18 et saep.
    In or around the Circus many jugglers and soothsayers, etc., stationed themselves; hence, Circus fallax, Hor. S. 1, 6, 113; Cic. Div. 1, 58, 132; Suet. Aug. 74: Circus clamosus, Mart. 10, 53, 1; cf. Juv. 3, 65.
    Besides the Circus Maximus, there were at Rome still other Circi, among which the most celebrated was the Circus Flaminius in the ninth region, Varr. L. L. 5, § 154; Cic. Att. 1, 14, 1; id. Planc. 23, 55; id. Sest. 14, 33; Liv. 27, 21, 1; 28, 11, 4; Plin. 34, 3, 7, § 13; called only Circus, Ov. F. 6, 205; 6, 209; cf. Becker, Antiq. 1, p. 598; and the Circus Vaticanus, begun by Caligula and finished by Nero, Plin. 16, 40, 76, § 201: in Vaticani Gai et Neronis principuus circo, id. 36, 11, 15, § 74.
    Also, without the walls of Rome, Circus maritimus, Liv. 9, 42, 11.
    1. B. Hence, Circensis, e, adj., pertaining to the Circus: ludi, the contesls in the Circus Maximus, also called ludi magni (Liv. 4, 27, 2; 5, 19, 6; 22, 9, 10 al.; cf. Baumg.Crus. ad Suet. Aug. 23), Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 15, § 33; Suet. Ner. 7; 11: ludicrum, the same, Liv. 44, 9, 3.
      Hence, Circensis pompa, Suet. Claud. 11.
      Also absol.: Circenses, ium, m. (sc. ludi; cf. Neue, Formenl. 1, p. 458): edere, Suet. Caes. 39; id. Calig. 18: committere, id. Claud. 21: spectare, id. Aug. 45: Circensium die, id. Dom. 4: plebeii, prepared by the ediles annually in November, id. Tib. 26.
      1. 2. Transf., any race-course, Verg. A. 5, 109; 5, 289; 5, 551; Sil. 16, 313; 16, 323; Stat. Th. 6, 247.
        1. b. Meton., the spectators in the circus, Sil. 16, 535.