Etymograph

English

cirque

Cirque comes from French cirque ‘circular arena’, from Latin circus ‘circle, ring’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-1‘to bend’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίρκος1kírkos‘circle, ring’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircus1‘circle, ring’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcirque1‘circular arena’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1722cirque1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English cirque
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, Laurence Echard, London: Printed for Jacob Tonson: “Nero exhibited theſe Spectacles in his own Gardens, impiouſly…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)ker-Wiktionary, English cirque‘to bend’uncertain
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκίρκοςWiktionary, English cirquekírkos‘circle, ring’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircusWiktionary, English cirque‘circle, ring’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentcirqueWiktionary, English cirque‘circular arena’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1722cirqueWiktionary, English cirque. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1722, Laurence Echard, London: Printed for Jacob Tonson: “Nero exhibited theſe Spectacles in his own Gardens, impiouſly…”

The story

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

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to bend’

short, across, share, card, cross, cancer, screen, score, shirt, curve, scare, crucial, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, shrine, skirt, crest, corona, shear, scorpion, incarceration, shred, carnage, raffle, corolla, scorn, shrewd, crux, shard, carnal, carcinoma, riddance, crepe, carnivorous, corgi, ruck, shrew, 111 more

through Latin circus ‘circle, ring’

circle, circuit, circulation, circus, circa, circulate, circulatory, 14 more

Today it means

noun A Roman circus.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cirque”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- / cirque

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