different between amphitheatre vs circus

English

Etymology

From Latin amphitheatrum, from Ancient Greek ??????????? (amphithéatron).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?æmf???i??t?/, /?æmf?????t?/, /?æmfi??i??t?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?æm.p???i.(j)?.t?/, /?æm.f???i.(j)?.t?/

Noun

amphitheatre (plural amphitheatres)

1. An open, outdoor theatre (which may be a theatre in the round, or have a stage with seating on only one side), especially one from the classical period of ancient Greece or Rome, or a modern venue of similar design.
2. (geology) A natural formation of a similar shape, where a steep mountain or slope a particular rock formation forms a partial or compete bowl, especially one used as a performance space (and possibly modified by carving out seats, etc) because the slopes naturally amplify or echo sound.

Alternative forms

• amphitheater (American)

Derived terms

• amphitheatric
• amphitheatrical

Translations

Further reading

• amphitheatre on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• amphitheater

English

Etymology

From Latin circus (“ring, circle”), from Proto-Indo-European *sker, *ker (“to turn, to bend”). Doublet of cirque. Displaced native Old English hringsetl (literally “ring seat”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?s??k?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?s?k?s/
• Rhymes: -??(?)k?s

Noun

circus (plural circuses or circusses or circi)

1. A traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts, that gives shows usually in a circular tent. [from late 18th c.]

2. A round open space in a town or city where multiple streets meet.

3. (figuratively) A spectacle; a noisy fuss; a chaotic and/or crowded place.
   • 2009, Christine Brooks, A Quiet Village (page 81)

     The village would be turned into a circus over this. He groaned, it was just the sort of case the media had a field day over. He had to get the whole thing sorted fast before anyone got wind of it.

4. (historical) In the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.
5. (military, World War II) A code name for bomber attacks with fighter escorts in the day time. The attacks were against short-range targets with the intention of occupying enemy fighters and keeping their fighter units in the area concerned.
6. (obsolete) Circuit; space; enclosure.
   • 1817, Lord Byron, The Lament of Tasso

     The narrow circus of my dungeon wall.

Coordinate terms

• (open space): concourse

Derived terms

• bread and circuses
• let's get this circus on the road
• media circus
• three-ring circus

Related terms

• circular
• circle

Translations

Verb

circus (third-person singular simple present circuses or circusses, present participle circusing or circussing, simple past and past participle circused or circussed)

1. To take part in a circus; or to be displayed as if in a circus

References

Anagrams

• Curcis, Ruccis

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?r.k?s/
• Hyphenation: cir?cus

Noun

circus n (plural circussen, diminutive circusje n)

1. circus (company of performers; place where this company performs)

Derived terms

• circusartiest
• circusclown
• circusdier
• circusshow
• circustent

Descendants

• Afrikaans: sirkus
• ? Indonesian: sirkus

See also

• beestenspel

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????? (kírkos, “circle, ring”), related to ?????? (kríkos, “ring”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?kir.kus/, [?k?rk?s?]
• (Vulgar) IPA^(key): /?kir.kus/, [?k?rk?s]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?t??ir.kus/, [?t??irkus]

Noun

circus m (genitive circ?); second declension

1. a circular line or orbit; circle, ring
2. a racecourse or space where games are held, especially one that is round
3. the spectators in a circus; a circus

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

• circus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• circus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• circus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• circus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• circus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin