Circus

Definition: Circus

Circus

Noun

1. A travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals; "he ran away from home to join the circus".

2. Performance given by a traveling company of acrobats clowns and trained animals; "the children always love to go to the circus".

3. A frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a circus or carnival; "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere".

4. (ancient Rome) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games.

5. An arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent; "they used the elephants to help put up the circus".

6. A genus of haws comprising the harriers.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "circus" was first used: sometime around 1380. (references)

Etymology: Circus \Cir"cus\, noun; plural Circuses. [Latin circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See Circle, and compare to Cirque.]. (references)

Satire

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

CIRCUS

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Synonyms: Circus

Abode

Square, polygon, circus, crescent, mall, piazza, arcade, colonnade, peristyle, cloister; gardens, grove, residences; block of buildings, market place, place, plaza.

Arena

Noun: arena, field, platform; scene of action, theater; walk, course; hustings; stare, boards; (playhouse); amphitheater; Coliseum, Colosseum; Flavian amphitheater, hippodrome, circus, race course, corso, turf, bear garden, playground, gymnasium, palestra, ring, lists; tiltyard, tilting ground; Campus Martins, Champ de Allars; campus.

The Drama

Theater; playhouse, opera house; house; music hall; amphitheater, circus, hippodrome, theater in the round; puppet show, fantoccini; marionettes, Punch and Judy.

Crosswords: Circus

Dutch (circus), Latin (circle, circus, ring).

This is the circus, everybody's trying not to go home (Almost Famous; writing credit: Cameron Crowe)

That's a smart mouse, Del, he's like a circus mouse (The Green Mile; writing credit: Frank Darabont)

Carnies. Circus folk (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery; writing credit: Mike Myers.)

I never thought I'd be running off with the circus. (Roustabout; writing credit: Allan Weiss; Anthony Lawrence)

Irrelephant? Hey, that'sa that answer! There's a whole lot of irrelephants in the circus. (Duck Soup; writing credit: Bert Kalmar ; Harry Ruby)

Circus life (FAITHFULLY; performing artist: Journey)

I work at the circus (Pretty and High; performing artist: The Roches)

Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized. (references; author: unknown)

A dog who attends a flea circus most likely will steal the whole show. (references; author: unknown)

Circus World (1974)

Jefferson Circus Songs (1974)

Nanny and the Professor and the Phantom of the Circus (1973)

Nightmare Circus (1973)

Cartoon circus (1972)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Pippi Goes to the Circus (Pippi Longstocking) (reference)

• The Family Circus by Request (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Carnival & Circus Booking Guide (reference)

• Circus (reference)

• Circus Report (reference)

• Circus World Museum (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus (reference)

• Kidsongs - A Day At the Circus (reference)

• Monty Python's Flying Circus - Box Set 3 (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Carmina Burana / Fireworks / Circus Polka (reference)

• Electric Circus (Clean) [ENHANCED] (reference)

• Set This Circus Down (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

High Tech

• Circus Maximus (reference)

• Jay Jay High Flying Circus (reference)

• Putt-Putt Joins the Circus (reference)

  (more camera examples; more video game examples; more computer examples; more electronic examples; more software examples)

Consumer Goods

• Circus Seal Announcements and Thank-You Notes (reference)

  (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The parasailing concept is born - a cartoon of a circus troop using a balloon. In: "Histoire des Ballons et des Aeronautes Celebres," by Gaston Tissandier, 1887, p. 76. Library Call Number TL616 .T57 1887. Credit: Treasures of the Library.

The appeal of the circus is perennial throughout the land. Credit: Library of Congress.

Boy peering through wall chink at clown with circus. Credit: Library of Congress.

Circus days. Credit: Library of Congress.

National Capital circus season. Credit: Library of Congress.

Lieut. R.A. Kenlock and John Brockhurst, a movie camerman from International, examining a broken bit of the fuselage of an airplane they were in, which was in an accident at an aerial circus, at Lakehurst flying field. Credit: Library of Congress.

Paul of Franconi's circus. Credit: Library of Congress.

The Circus ring, Luna Park, Cleveland, O[hio]. Credit: Library of Congress.

Visiting Nurses' Association, Grand Army of the Republic National Encampment, 1914, tents, Grand Circus Park, Detroit, Mich. Credit: Library of Congress.

Circus sketches: clowns and elephants. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Business

In March 1998, the State Golden Card Project Coordinate Group issued the “Regulations on Integrated Circus Card Registration Management”, requiring IC card providers, manufacturers and IC card issuing entities to register in China. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "circus": circus acrobat ♦ Circus aeruginosus ♦ Circus aerunginosus ♦ circus artiste ♦ Circus cyaneus ♦ circus floor ♦ circus manager ♦ circus marquee ♦ circus performance ♦ circus performer ♦ circus pygargus ♦ circus tent ♦ field circus ♦ genus Circus ♦ traveling circus ♦ travelling circus. Additional references.

Beginning with "circus": circus-artist, circus-like, circus-rider, circus-sounding, circus-style, circus-type.

Ending with "circus": flying-circus.

Albanian

cirk (tan), shesh (course, court, esplanade, field, ground, place, platform, Square, table), kryqëzim (calvary, cross, crossing, crucifixion, hybridization, junction), amfiteatër (amphitheatre, bowl). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مدرج روماني, ‏سيرك (circs, cirque). (various references)

Basque

zirku. (various references)

Bulgarian 

циркус (cirque), цирк (the tan), площад (place). (various references)

Chinese 

马戏 (Circuses), 馬戲團 , 馬戲 . (various references)

Czech

cirkus (cirque), zmatek (anarchy, bewilderment, chaos, clutter, confusion, disarray, disorder, disturbance, embroilment, fluster, hash, hodge-podge, jumble, maze, mess up, mix up, moil, muddle, Mull, nonplus, non-plus, pandemonium, perplexity, perturbation, puzzlement, shambles, stew, tangle, tempest, tumble, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, turnup, upset, welter), shon (bustle, clutter, hustle, race, rush, scramble), kruhové námìstí (circular square), blázinec (bedlam, booby hatch, confusion, jumble, lunatic asylum, madhouse, nut house, pandemonium, tangle). (various references)

Danish

cirkus. (various references)

Dutch

circus. (various references)

Esperanto

cirko. (various references)

Farsi 

چالگاه , سیرک . (various references)

Finnish

sirkus. (various references)

French

cirque (cirque). (various references)

Frisian

sirkus, hynstespul. (various references)

German

zirkus (big top, fuss, to-do). (various references)

Greek 

τσίρκο. (various references)

Hebrew 

קרקס, ככר (plain, valley). (various references)

Hungarian

cirkusz (fireworks), körtér (roundabout), körönd, repülőraj, kerek völgykatlan. (various references)

Indonesian

sirkus. (various references)

Italian

circo. (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

曲馬 (equestrian feats), ゴルフ場 (ace, circle, circlet, circlip, circuit, circuit breaker, circuit training, circular fluorescent lamp, circular skirt, circulation, circulator, circumscribe, circumscription, club, Gauloise, golf course, golf links, gondola, gong, goods or services without charge, grounder, saber, sabre, sabre-toothed tiger, sardine, sardonyx, search, searcher, searchlight, serge, sergeant, servant, serve, serve point, server, service, service area, service car, service girl, service room, service station, service yard, snap ring, sports club, support system, surcharge, surf cast, surf casting, surf rider, surf roller, surf ski, surf trolling, surfboard, surfer, surfing, surge, surveillance, survey, Surveyor, third, thirty). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

きょくば (equestrian feats), サーカス . (various references)

Korean 

곡마 (Circuses). (various references)

Manx

preaban (demesne, fair, fairground, hippodrome, patch, piece of land, plot). (various references)

Occitan

circ. (various references)

Papago

ma-lohma (acrobat). (various references)

Papiamen

circo. (various references)

Pig Latin

ircuscay.(various references)

Portuguese

circo (amphitheater, amphitheatre, cirque). (various references)

Romanian

circ (basin, monkey business, tan), piaţã circularã, piaţã (market, mart, Piazza, Square), manej (a giddy-go-round, circle, manege), arenã (amphitheatre, arena, circle, field, lists, pit, ring, stage). (various references)

Russian 

цирк цирковой, цирк (hippodrome), круглая площадь, амфитеатр (amphitheater, amphitheatre, cirque, parquet circle). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

cirkus, raskrsnica (crossroads, cross-roads, intersection, junction). (various references)

Spanish

circo (Amphitheater, amphitheatre, cirque). (various references)

Swedish

cirkus (cirque, hippodrome). (various references)

Tagalog

sírko. (various references)

Turkish

yolların kesiştiği meydan, sirk pisti, sirk gösterileri, sirk (big top, hippodrome), sírk, kargaşalı toplantı, gösteri uçuşu (fly past, flyby, stunt, stunt flying), arena (arena, bullring, cirque). (various references)

Turkmen 

sirk (r). (various references)

Ukrainian

цікаве видовище, циркова вистава, цирк (the tan), кільце (circle, cirque, coil, grummet, hoop, orb, ring, ringlet), кругла площа, круглий майдан, круг (circle, cirque, gyre, ring), коло (anear, anigh, aside, by, circle, circuit, circumference, near, on, orb, ring, round, verge, wheel), манеж (manege, stable), арена (arena, cirque, stage). (various references)

Vietnamese 

trò chơi ồn ào trường đấu. (various references)

bosforo, circus, foris, foro, foros, forum. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "circus": circuses, circusy. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Circus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: cacus, carcus, carcuss, cardus, cerces, Cercis, certus, Cervus, cincus, circis, circu, circui, circul, circums, circur, circussy, circut, cirius, cirrius, cirus, crisus, cymrus, icdcs, icrus, kirkus. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: cris, crus, curs, uric.

-3 letters: cis, cur, sic, sir, sri.

-4 letters: is, si, us.

+1 letter: circusy.

+2 letters: caesuric, circuits, circuses, crucians, curacies.

+3 letters: cinctures, circulars, crucibles, crucifers, crucifies, cucurbits, curculios, curlicues, curricles, occupiers, scorbutic, subarctic, succories, succoring, superchic.

+4 letters: accuracies, capricious, churchiest, churchings, circuities, circuitous, circulates, circumcise, circumfuse, coriaceous, councilors, crucifixes, cruciforms, crunchiest, currencies, curvacious, cutcheries, ericaceous, fascicular, microluces, muscarinic, practicums, precocious, reaccusing, reoccupies, scrunching, subarctics, succincter, succouring, uricosuric.