Under the word there is a ring: a round space with everyone sitting around the edge, looking in. Fill that ring with and animals and you get the show; fill it with buildings and roads and you get a round London junction; leave it in ancient Rome and you get the racing arena. And if a real situation gets loud and enough, English says it has turned into one.
From the word’s history
Etymonline: circus is Latin circus 'ring, circular line', which the Romans applied to their arenas and racing courses, from Greek kirkos 'a circle, a ring'. It was used of Roman amphitheatres from the late 14th century, of the modern performance arena from 1791, and the Piccadilly Circus type of place name comes from an early-18th-century sense 'buildings arranged in a ring; circular road'. The figurative 'lively uproar' sense is recorded from 1869.
Etymonline 記載：circus 就是拉丁文的 circus「圈、圓形的線」，羅馬人拿它來稱呼自己的競技場和賽道，再往上是希臘文 kirkos「圓、環」。十四世紀末用來指羅馬的圓形劇場，1791 年起指現代的表演場地；Piccadilly Circus 這類地名則來自十八世紀初「圍成一圈的建築、環形道路」的用法。「亂哄哄的場面」這個比喻義有 1869 年的紀錄。所以四個意思其實共用同一個「圓圈」。
Etymonline, entry "circus" (etymonline.com/word/circus)
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
circusnoun/ˈsɜːkəs/
- 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.
- The circus will be in town next week.
- 2
A round open space in a town or city where multiple streets meet.
- Oxford Circus in London is at the north end of Regent Street.
- 3
A spectacle; a noisy fuss; a chaotic and/or crowded place.
- 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
datedslangAn undertaking or arrangement.
- "Right you are; I'll put him wise," undertook Nickle briskly. "After all, it's entirely your circus. Shall we stay here and—"
- 5
rareA group of puffins.
- The circus of puffins were pictured by Alana Willox who was out on a walk at the Bullers of Buchan in Buchan, Aberdeenshire on Sunday.
- A 'CIRCUS' of puffins will take flight to their new perches over the next few days, after their official unveiling at Government House.
- 6
historicalIn the ancient Roman Empire, a building for chariot racing.
- 7
governmentmilitarypoliticsA 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.
- 8
obsoleteCircuit; space; enclosure.
- The narrow circus of my dungeon wall.
circusverb/ˈsɜːkəs/
- 1
To take part in a circus; or to be displayed as if in a circus.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。