Surveying. a glass or metal disk mounted concentrically with the spindle of a theodolite or level and graduated so that the angle at which the alidade is set may be read.
16.
a sphere or orb: the circle of the earth.
17.
a ring of light in the sky; halo.
–verb (used with object)
18.
to enclose in a circle; surround; encircle: Circle the correct answer on the exam paper. The enemy circled the hill.
19.
to move in a circle or circuit around; rotate or revolve around: He circled the house cautiously.
20.
to change course so as to pass by or avoid collision with; bypass; evade: The ship carefully circled the iceberg.
–verb (used without object)
21.
to move in a circle or circuit: The plane circled for half an hour before landing.
22.
Movies,Television. to iris (usually fol. by in or out).
—Idiom
23.
circle the wagons,
a.
(in the early U.S. West) to form the wagons of a covered-wagon train into a circle for defensive purposes, as against Indian attack.
b.
Slang. to prepare for an all-out, unaided defensive fight: The company has circled the wagons since its market share began to decline.
[Origin: bef. 1000; < L circulus, equiv. to circ(us) (see circus) + -ulus-ule; r. ME cercle < OF < L, as above; r. OE circul < L, as above]
—Related forms
circler, noun
—Synonyms 3. ring, halo, corona. 11.Circle,club,coterie,set,society are terms applied to restricted social groups. A circle may be a little group; in the plural it often suggests a whole section of society interested in one mode of life, occupation, etc.: a sewing circle; a language circle; in theatrical circles. Club implies an association with definite requirements for membership and fixed dues: an athletic club. Coterie suggests a little group closely and intimately associated because of congeniality: a literary coterie. Set refers to a number of persons of similar background, interests, etc., somewhat like a clique (See ring1) but without disapproving connotations; however, it often implies wealth or interest in social activities: the country club set. A society is a group associated to further common interests of a cultural or practical kind: a Humane Society.
A plane curve everywhere equidistant from a given fixed point, the center.
A planar region bounded by a circle.
Something, such as a ring, shaped like such a plane curve.
A circular course, circuit, or orbit: a satellite's circle around the earth.
A traffic circle.
A curved section or tier of seats in a theater.
A series or process that finishes at its starting point or continuously repeats itself; a cycle.
A group of people sharing an interest, activity, or achievement: well-known in artistic circles.
A territorial or administrative division, especially of a province, in some European countries.
A sphere of influence or interest; domain.
Logic A vicious circle.
v.
cir·cled, cir·cling, cir·cles
v.
tr.
To make or form a circle around; enclose. See Synonyms at surround.
To move in a circle around.
v.
intr.
To move in a circle. See Synonyms at turn.
[Middle English cercle, from Old French, from Latin circulus, diminutive of circus, circle, from Greek kirkos, krikos; see sker-2 in Indo-European roots.]
c.1305, from O.Fr. cercle, from L. circulus "small ring," dim. of circus (q.v.). Replaced O.E. trendel and hring. Meaning "group of persons surrounding a center of interest" is from 1714; that of "coterie" is from 1646; dim. form circlet is from 1481. The verb is from c.1374.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point; "he calculated the circumference of the circle"
2.
an unofficial association of people or groups; "the smart set goes there"; "they were an angry lot" [syn: set]
3.
something approximating the shape of a circle; "the chairs were arranged in a circle"
4.
movement once around a course; "he drove an extra lap just for insurance" [syn: lap]
5.
a road junction at which traffic streams circularly around a central island; "the accident blocked all traffic at the rotary" [syn: traffic circle]
a curved section or tier of seats in a hall or theater or opera house; usually the first tier above the orchestra; "they had excellent seats in the dress circle"
8.
any circular or rotating mechanism; "the machine punched out metal circles"
verb
1.
travel around something; "circle the globe"
2.
move in circles
3.
form a circle around; "encircle the errors" [syn: encircle]
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This Main Entry: cir·cle Pronunciation: 's&r-k&l Function: noun 1 a: a closed plane curve every point of which is equidistant from a fixedpoint within the curve b: the plane surface bounded by such a curve 2: something (as an anatomical part) in the form of a circle or section of a circle circle> —see CIRCLE OF WILLIS
A process used in finding interested buyers of a new security issue before determining the final price. A potential customer will be given a preliminary price (for example,the interest rate for a bond or the selling price for a stock) and will commit to a purchase if the issue is actually priced at the preliminary estimate. A different price permits the customer to backout or to get the first chance to buy the issue at the new price. Compare indication of interest.
Circle Pines, MN (city, FIPS 11494) Location: 45.13850 N, 93.15245 W Population (1990): 4704 (1599 housing units) Area: 4.5 sq km (land), 0.5 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 55014
Circle D-KC Estates, TX (CDP, FIPS 14986) Location: 30.16080 N, 97.23135 W Population (1990): 1247 (478 housing units) Area: 24.2 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Circle Hot Springs Station, AK (CDP, FIPS 14990) Location: 65.47035 N, 144.68913 W Population (1990): 29 (97 housing units) Area: 138.0 sq km (land), 2.6 sq km (water)
Circle, AK (CDP, FIPS 14880) Location: 65.82454 N, 144.08262 W Population (1990): 73 (31 housing units) Area: 11.8 sq km (land), 2.9 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 99733
Circle, MT (town, FIPS 14950) Location: 47.41749 N, 105.58614 W Population (1990): 805 (399 housing units) Area: 2.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 59215
Social Circle, GA (city, FIPS 71660) Location: 33.65854 N, 83.71802 W Population (1990): 2755 (1047 housing units) Area: 28.7 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 30279
Ap`pa*ri"tion\, n. [F. apparition, L. apparitio, fr. apparere. See Appear.]1. The act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility. --Milton. The sudden apparition of the Spaniards. --Prescott. The apparition of Lawyer Clippurse occasioned much speculation in that portion of the world. --Sir W. Scott. 2. The thing appearing; a visible object; a form. Which apparition, it seems, was you. --Tatler. 3. An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; a ghost; a specter; a phantom. "The heavenly bands . . . a glorious apparition." --Milton. I think it is the weakness of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous apparition. --Shak. 4. (Astron.) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; -- opposed to occultation. Circle of perpetual apparition. See under Circle.
Cen"ter\, n. [F. centre, fr. L. centrum, fr. round which a circle is described, fr. ? to prick, goad.]1. A point equally distant from the extremities of a line, figure, or body, or from all parts of the circumference of a circle; the middle point or place. 2. The middle or central portion of anything. 3. A principal or important point of concentration; the nucleus around which things are gathered or to which they tend; an object of attention, action, or force; as, a center of attaction. 4. The earth. [Obs.] --Shak. 5. Those members of a legislative assembly (as in France) who support the existing government. They sit in the middle of the legislative chamber, opposite the presiding officer, between the conservatives or monarchists, who sit on the right of the speaker, and the radicals or advanced republicans who occupy the seats on his left, See Right, and Left. 6. (Arch.) A temporary structure upon which the materials of a vault or arch are supported in position until the work becomes self-supporting. 7. (Mech.) (a) One of the two conical steel pins, in a lathe, etc., upon which the work is held, and about which it revolves. (b) A conical recess, or indentation, in the end of a shaft or other work, to receive the point of a center, on which the work can turn, as in a lathe. Note: In a lathe the live center is in the spindle of the head stock; the dead center is on the tail stock. Planer centers are stocks carrying centers, when the object to be planed must be turned on its axis. Center of an army, the body or troops occupying the place in the line between the wings. Center of acurve or surface (Geom.) (a) A point such that every line drawn through the point and terminated by the curve or surface is bisected at the point. (b) The fixed point of reference in polar co["o]rdinates. See Co["o]rdinates. Center of curvature of a curve (Geom.), the center of that circle which has at any given point of the curve closer contact with the curve than has any other circle whatever. See Circle. Center of a fleet, the division or column between the van and rear, or between the weather division and the lee. Center of gravity (Mech.), that point of a body about which all its parts can be balanced, or which being supported, the whole body will remain at rest, though acted upon by gravity. Center of gyration (Mech.), that point in a rotating body at which the whole mass might be concentrated (theoretically) without altering the resistance of the intertia of the body to angular acceleration or retardation. Center of inertia (Mech.), the center of gravity of a body or system of bodies. Center of motion, the point which remains at rest, while all the other parts of a body move round it. Center of oscillation, the point at which, if the whole matter of a suspended body were collected, the time of oscillation would be the same as it is in the actual form and state of the body. Center of percussion, that point in a body moving about a fixed axis at which it may strike an obstacle without communicating a shock to the axis. Center of pressure (Hydros.), that point in a surface pressed by a fluid, at which, if a force equal to the whole pressure and in the same line be applied in a contrary direction, it will balance or counteract the whole pressure of the fluid.
Cir"cle\ (s[~e]r"k'l), n. [OE. cercle, F. cercle, fr. L. circulus (Whence also AS. circul), dim. of circus circle, akin to Gr. kri`kos, ki`rkos, circle, ring. Cf. Circus, Circum-.]1. A plane figure, bounded by a single curve line called its circumference, every part of which is equally distant from a point within it, called the center. 2. The line that bounds such a figure; a circumference; a ring. 3. (Astron.) An instrument of observation, the graduated limb of which consists of an entire circle. Note: When it is fixed to a wall in an observatory, it is called a mural circle; when mounted with a telescope on an axis and in Y's, in the plane of the meridian, a meridian or transit circle; when involving the principle of reflection, like the sextant, a reflecting circle; and when that of repeating an angle several times continuously along the graduated limb, a repeating circle. 4. A round body; a sphere; an orb. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. --Is. xi. 22. 5. Compass; circuit; inclosure. In the circle of this forest. --Shak. 6. A company assembled, or conceived to assemble, about a central point of interest, or bound by a common tie; a class or division of society; a coterie; a set. As his name gradually became known, the circle of his acquaintance widened. --Macaulay. 7. A circular group of persons; a ring. 8. A series ending where it begins, and repeating itself. Thus in a circle runs the peasant's pain. --Dryden. 9. (Logic) A form of argument in which two or more unproved statements are used to prove each other; inconclusive reasoning. That heavy bodies descend by gravity; and, again, that gravity is a quality whereby a heavy body descends, is an impertinent circle and teaches nothing. --Glanvill. 10. Indirect form of words; circumlocution. [R.] Has he given the lie, In circle, or oblique, or semicircle. --J. Fletcher. 11. A territorial division or district. Note: The Circles of the Holy Roman Empire, ten in number, were those principalities or provinces which had seats in the German Diet. Azimuth circle. See under Azimuth. Circle of altitude (Astron.), a circle parallel to the horizon, having its pole in the zenith; an almucantar. Circle of curvature. See Osculating circle of a curve (Below). Circle of declination. See under Declination. Circle of latitude. (a) (Astron.) A great circle perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, passing through its poles. (b) (Spherical Projection) A small circle of the sphere whose plane is perpendicular to the axis. Circles of longitude, lesser circles parallel to the ecliptic, diminishing as they recede from it. Circle of perpetual apparition, at any given place, the boundary of that space around the elevated pole, within which the stars never set. Its distance from the pole is equal to the latitude of the place. Circle of perpetual occultation, at any given place, the boundary of the space around the depressed pole, within which the stars never rise. Circle of the sphere, a circle upon the surface of the sphere, called a great circle when its plane passes through the center of the sphere; in all other cases, a small circle. Diurnal circle. See under Diurnal. Dress circle, a gallery in a theater, generally the one containing the prominent and more expensive seats. Druidical circles (Eng. Antiq.), a popular name for certain ancient inclosures formed by rude stones circularly arranged, as at Stonehenge, near Salisbury. Family circle, a gallery in a theater, usually one containing inexpensive seats. Horary circles (Dialing), the lines on dials which show the hours. Osculating circle of a curve (Geom.), the circle which touches the curve at some point in the curve, and close to the point more nearly coincides with the curve than any other circle. This circle is used as a measure of the curvature of the curve at the point, and hence is called circle of curvature. Pitch circle. See under Pitch. Vertical circle, an azimuth circle. Voltaiccircle or circuit. See under Circuit. To square the circle. See under Square. Syn: Ring; circlet; compass; circuit; inclosure.
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