circum-

circum-

(word root) around

Examples of words with the root circum-: circumference, circumnavigate

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

circum-

pref.

Around; about: circumlunar.

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[Latin, from circum, around, accusative of circus, circle; see circle.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

circum-

prefix

around; surrounding; on all sides: circumlocution; circumrotate.

[from Latin circum around, from circus circle]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

circum-

a prefix with the meaning “round about, around,” found in Latin loanwords, esp. derivatives of verbs that had the general sense “to encompass or surround” (circumference; circumstance) or “to go around” in the manner specified by the verb (circumnavigate; circumscribe); on this basis forming adjectives in English with the meaning “surrounding” that named by the stem (circumpolar).

[< Latin circum around (acc. of circus; see circus, circle)]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

circum-

A prefix meaning "around", as in circumscribe, to draw a figure around another figure.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

circum-

pref → um-, um … herum

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007