Circulation

How to spell circulation

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce circulation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does circulation mean?

1. nounThe continuous movement of something, such as blood, air, or money, around a system or area.
2. nounThe number of copies of a newspaper or magazine that are distributed to readers.

Circulation in a sentence

• Poor circulation in her feet left them cold during the winter.

• The local paper reported a steady decline in circulation over the decade.

• The office fan improves the circulation of air in the stuffy room.

• The magazine boosted its circulation by offering free trial subscriptions.

Where does circulation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin circulus, meaning 'a little ring' or 'small circle', itself a diminutive of circus, 'a ring' or 'circular arena'. From circulus the Romans formed the verb circulari, 'to form a circle' or 'to move around', and the related circulatio described a moving around in a loop. English took the word in through French in the 1500s, originally describing things that move in a continuous round, and it became firmly attached to the body when William Harvey demonstrated the circulation of the blood in the early 1600s. From there the meaning spread outward to money, air, documents, and the number of copies a newspaper sends round to its readers. The spelling keeps the tidy circul- ring at its heart, so remembering that it is built on a 'little circle' helps fix the single l and the -ation ending.

How the word is built

• circul- (from Latin circulus: little circle)
• -ate (verb)
• -ion (noun of action)