The preposition circa allows us to refer to an approximate or close date.
Circa is a Latin word that is used in our language and is part of the dictionary prepared by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). It is a preposition that is used as a synonym for towards .
In this case, the term toward refers to “near” or “around.” Circa is generally used to refer to a date that may not be exact .
Lack of details
The idea of circa is used when there is no indubitable proof of when a certain event occurred , although there is data that allows it to be located close to a precise moment . Thus, with the preposition , it is clarified that what was indicated occurred near or around the specified date .
Typically, the notion of circa is used when talking about events that took place a long time ago. This age makes it very difficult to verify certain data, which ends up being inferred from other information.
Suppose an author is writing about the life of a medieval knight . After much research, he concludes that the character married at the beginning of the 13th century , but he cannot find a document that certifies it. That is why he writes that he married circa 1201 . In this way, it mentions that the marriage of the knight in question took place around that year, without ruling out that the celebration took place in 1199 or 1205 , to mention other possibilities.
Circa can be abbreviated as c., ca. or cca.
The abbreviation of circa
It is interesting to note that, although the full word can be written, an abbreviation of circa is often used. In this way, it is common for cca to be recorded. , ca. or c.
In any case, the preposition or its abbreviation is placed before the date . Returning to the previous example , “circa 1201” must be indicated, “cca. 1201” , “ca. 1201” or “c. 1201” . On the contrary, write “1201 circa” , “1201 cca.” , “1201 ca.” or “1201 c.” is incorrect.
Combination of exact and approximate dates
The biography of a deceased personality always includes his date of birth and his date of death . However, sometimes some of this data cannot be specified.
In this context , the biographer can use the preposition circa applied to the date that he is not in a position to detail faithfully. If it is known that the protagonist of the biography was born in 1780 and it is believed that he died around the year 1845 , it can be noted: 1780 – c. 1845 .
Likewise, if what is known is the death of the individual and not the year of his birth, the preposition is used in the corresponding data: circa 1520 – 1561 , for example.
C1RCA or Circa, a famous brand
C1RCA is the name of a brand of skate footwear, clothing and accessories. This name is pronounced circa , the same as the preposition.
The founding of C1RCA took place in 1999 in the American city of San Clemente ( California ). Skaters Chad Muska (who led the firm until 2005 ) and Jamie Thomas spearheaded the project , which expanded to several countries and currently has an international presence. Today C1RCA 's team of professional skateboarders includes Adrian Lopez , James Martin and James Brockman .