ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cir

prep.
C1 Advanced cir

prep. around a specific time or date. You use this when you are not exactly sure when something happened, but you know the general year.

prep. approximately or about, specifically in reference to historical dates or time periods. Often abbreviated as 'c.' or 'ca.' in academic writing.


Usage

Typically precedes a specific year, century, or era; frequently used in historical and archaeological contexts.

Pitfall

The event happened circa at 1920.The event happened circa 1920.Circa is a preposition that directly precedes the date; adding 'at' is redundant and grammatically incorrect.

© 2026 English Reference