English
Zerkle
Zerkle comes from German Zirkel ‘pair of compasses, compass’, and goes back to Latin circus ‘a circular line or orbit’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircus‘a circular line or orbit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircinus‘pair of compasses’
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050zirkil
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350zirkel
- Germanc. 1650–presentZirkel‘pair of compasses, compass’
- EnglishtodayZerkle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircus‘a circular line or orbit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcircinus‘pair of compasses’
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050zirkil
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350zirkel
- Germanc. 1650–presentZirkel‘pair of compasses, compass’
- EnglishtodayZerkle
The story
Americanized spelling of German Zirkel.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ‘to cut off, sever’
short, across, share, card, cross, screen, score, cancer, shirt, crucial, curve, scare, skirt, carnival, curb, scar, cancellation, scrutiny, shrine, crest, corona, shear, scorpion, shred, carnage, incarceration, carcinoma, corolla, scorn, shrewd, crux, shard, carnal, raffle, riddance, crepe, carnivorous, corgi, ruck, shrew, 112 more
through Latin circus ‘a circular line or orbit’
circuit, circle, circus, circulation, circa, circulate, cirque, circulatory, 14 more
Today it means
name A surname from German.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin circus / Zerkle