Note 95 – The word circa

According to Cambridge Dictionaries Online http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/circa?q=circa, circa is a preposition word meaning approximately and is “used especially with years”.   Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circa explains that circa is also latin for ‘around’ and used quite a bit for historical writing.  The shortened form can be written in any of the following ways (although the last two are only used occasionally):

• c.
• ca.
• circ.
• cca.

Here are some examples in sentences, where it is used before dates (where the date has been estimated):

1. The King reigned from 1706 to c.1745
2. Jerry attended the school from c.1985 to c.1986
3. Simon was born c.2005

Example 1, suggests that 1706 is a known date whereas 1745 is an approximate date.  In examples 2 and 3 all the dates are approximate ones.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this.  I blog daily so please don’t forget to come back tomorrow to learn some more.

Until tomorrow…

Sandra

This blog: https://mywritingnotebook.wordpress.com

My other blog: http://sandramadeira.wordpress.com

My website: www.tipsandluxuries.com (includes the introduction to my book ‘A Gift for Stressed and Busy Parents’)

Twitter: @madeirasandra and @tipsandluxuries

Reference list:

Cambridge Dictionaries Online http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/circa?q=circ

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circa