Ca. and circa are word confusions that mean the same thing, and it’s all about the time. Literally about time, as in “oh, around about that year / decade / century / millennium . . .” Take your pick. It does allow you some leeway, timewise, so you don’t have to pick an exact minute, hour, month, or even year.
One example is rock ‘n roll. There’s no real, one, agreed-upon date when rock ‘n roll came into existence. It’s more of a . . . circa thing. Approximately, one huge around such-and-such a span of years that began with the music of slaves on the plantations and split into such streams as the blues, ragtime, and the native brass-bands which influenced the evolution of jazz with Jelly Roll Morton one of the early musicians and Louis Armstrong who taught musicians to improvise. It was the fun and energy of this music which evolved into the early rock and roll, a genre that continues to split and evolve today.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Ca., Circa |
|---|
| Part of Grammar: |
| Abbreviation; Adverb; Preposition |
| Always used before a date and with a space between it and that date
Generally refers to a date Around About In approximately Abbreviation: Adverb: Preposition:
|
| Examples: |
| Abbreviation: This event occurred ca. 1860s before the start of the Civil War. We’re not sure exactly, but believe it was c. 1840s. xx Adverb: The Venerable Bede was born circa 673. “He may look like a TV sportscaster, thought Brian, but his wit is straight out of the Chi Psi Lodge, circa 1963” (Maupin). Preposition: Geoffrey Chaucer was born circa 1342. Julius Caesar visited this area circa 50 B.C. “One small note of caution, it was evident that 2013 showed a significantly more limited demand and take-up of smaller space up to circa 5,000 sq ft, specifically in the Cardiff area with much of the stock that was available at the start of 2013, both of new and older specification, still remaining available at the start of 2014” (Confidence). |
| History of the Word: |
| Mid-19th century, originally from the Latin circa meaning around, round about, near, in the region of, about the time of. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
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Resources for Ca., Circa
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Apple Dictionary.com
Collins Dictionary: circa
“Confidence Returns to the Industrial Market; Head of agency for Wales at property adviser GVA, Tom Merrifield on the outlook for the industrial market..” Western Mail. 29 Jan 2014. Accessed 7 Apr 2024. <URL>.
The Free Dictionary: circa
Maupin, Armistead. Tales of the City. Originally published 1978. HarperCollins e-books, 2011. <https://amzn.to/4aqcd9l>. Ebook.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Vintage Philco Table Radio, AM Band, 5 Vacuum Tubes, Made In USA, Circa 1961, <https://visualhunt.com/f2/photo/8380137346/a85a2907d2/&g;, by France1978, <https://visualhunt.com/author/397fb3>, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt. Dance Floor (<http://www.fortepan.hu/_photo/download/fortepan_13968.jpg>) by ERKY-NAGY TIBOR is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Fortepan.
Revised as of 7 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie