circulate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin circulātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin circulō (“to make circular, encircle”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), a later collateral form of circulor (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”). See also Middle English circulat(e) (“(alchemy) changed by continuous distillation in a closed vessel”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sər'kyo͝o-lāt
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

circulate (third-person singular simple present circulates, present participle circulating, simple past and past participle circulated)

  1. (intransitive) To move in circles or through a circuit.
  2. (transitive) To cause (a person or thing) to move in circles or through a circuit.
  3. (intransitive) To move from person to person, as at a party.
  4. (transitive) To spread or disseminate.
    to circulate money or gossip
  5. (intransitive) To become widely known.
  6. (mathematics, intransitive) Of decimals: to repeat.
    a circulating decimal

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

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Translations to be checked

Further reading

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

circulate

  1. inflection of circulare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

circulate f pl

  1. feminine plural of circulato

Latin

Verb

circulāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of circulō

Spanish

Verb

circulate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of circular combined with te
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