different between mountainside vs cirque

English

Etymology

From mountain +? side

Noun

mountainside (plural mountainsides)

1. The sloping side of a mountain.

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French cirque (“circular arena; cirque”), from Latin circus (“circle, ring”), from Ancient Greek ?????? (kírkos, “circle, ring; racecourse, circus”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). Doublet of circus.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

cirque (plural cirques)

1. (geology) A curved depression in a mountainside with steep walls, forming the end of a valley.

   Synonyms: corrie, combe, cwm
2. (dated or literary) Something in the shape of a circle or ring, such as a Roman circus.

   Synonyms: circle, ring

Translations

Further reading

• cirque on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

References

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /si?k/

Noun

cirque m (plural cirques)

1. circus
2. (geology) cirque
3. (historical) a circular arena, such as in the ancient Roman Empire
   • 1875 (year of first performance), Chanson du Toréador from Carmen by Bizet

     le cirque est plein de sang

     The arena is full of blood

4. (colloquial) a mess, a disorder

   C'est quoi ce cirque !

   What is this nonsense!

Derived terms

• circassien

Related terms

• cercle

Further reading

• “cirque” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• crique