> Did someone with authority change the meaning of "circa" while my > back was turned? I always thought it meant "sometime around then" > and if so, then "sometime around 1967" can easily be "sometime > around 1968" or "sometime around 1966" -- at least until a real firm > fact can be found, at which point it becomes "before 31 Jun 1967" or > "after 15 Dec 1966" ... and even then, 1967 IS after 1966! > > Even for a dedicated nit-picker, this seems too small to fret over. > > Cheryl Singhals <singhals@erols.com> [Latin circ, from circum, around (probably on the model of adverbs like intr, within), from circus, circle; see circle.] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Each dictionary varies it a little but all agree it is from the Latin circus meaning circle. So not literally 'sometime around then' but can most certainly be interpreted that way. MickG Mick <mickg01@verizon.net>