Circuit

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈsɜː.kɪt/

Definitions

1. A closed loop through which electric current can flow ; a path forming a loop or ring for travel or movement ; a sequence of connected events or activities that repeat or follow each other
2. An arrangement of electrical components connected to allow current to flow continuously ; a rounded itinerary or route returning to the starting point ; a set of related actions or performances occurring in a specific order
3. A pathway designed for the flow of electricity around connected elements ; a route that loops back to its origin, often used for travel or racing ; a recurring pattern or cycle of events or operations

Etymology: Latin "circuitus" meant "a going round," built from "circum" ("around") and "ire" ("to go"), so the word began as a plain description of motion along a loop. English took it from Old French in the Middle English period, and its earliest senses stayed close to that physical idea of travelling round a route and back again. The electrical sense is a later extension. Electricity needed a way to describe a closed path for current to flow along, and the loop idea fitted neatly. The same logic produced the sense of a set of related events or performances that run in a fixed order, the way a circuit of courts or a tour of venues repeats along the same route. Its history also reaches east. The Wikipedia article on Imperial Chinese circuits concerns the administrative divisions of China, and the English word was used as a calque of Chinese "dào" or "lù", meaning that the Chinese terms for these regional administrative units were rendered by translating their sense of a route or road rather than borrowing their sounds.

Synonyms: loop, path, route, network

Antonyms: disconnection, break