Circulating

How to spell circulating

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce circulating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does circulating mean?

1. verbMoving around freely through a system or group, or being passed from person to person.

Circulating in a sentence

• Rumours about the merger were circulating around the office all week.

• The heating system keeps warm air circulating through every room.

Where does circulating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin circulus, meaning 'a little ring' or 'small circle', which was itself a diminutive of circus, 'a ring' or 'round arena'. From circulus Latin formed the verb circulare, 'to form a circle' or 'to move around in a ring', and its past participle circulatus gave English the verb 'circulate' in the early 1500s, first in scientific writing about things moving in a loop. The present participle 'circulating' simply adds the familiar -ing ending to that verb. The same circus root sits behind the modern entertainment word 'circus' and the geometric 'circle', which is a handy reminder that the spelling keeps the soft c followed by 'ircul', not 'cir-cyu'. The chief spelling trap is the unstressed middle vowel, written u (circ-U-lating) even though the ear hears a faint 'yuh'.

How the word is built

• circul- (from Latin circulus: little ring or circle)
• -ate (verb-forming suffix)
• -ing (present participle)