circulate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circulatus, past participle of Late Latin circulare (“make circular, encircle”), a later collateral form of circulari (“form a circle (of men) around oneself”), from circulus (“a circle”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sər'kü-lāt, IPA^(key): /ˈsɚ.kjʊˌleɪt/

• 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. to move from person to person, as at a party
4. to spread or disseminate

   to circulate money or gossip

5. to become widely known
6. (mathematics) Of decimals: to repeat.

Synonyms

• put about
• spread
• disseminate

Translations

Further reading

• “circulate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “circulate”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

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