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biocon commented on the word decircinate
Decircinate means to round off, form into a circle, draw a circle, bring into a compass or roundness (Oxford English Dictionary).
August 13, 2011
bourbonmots commented on the word decircinate
I would have thought the term would be 'encircinate'. Decircinate sounds like it would imply squaring off or in some other way disrupting the roundness of something.
August 15, 2011
biocon commented on the word decircinate
Bourbonmots: There is a quote from 1656 that defines decircinate as you suggest, i.e. "to bring out of compass or roundness, to unbind" (Oxford English Dictionary).
August 15, 2011
bourbonmots commented on the word decircinate
Thanks. I’m also seeing an 1897 quote: “…to bring into a compass or roundness: to draw a Circle with a pair of Compasses.” And I can see it now, thinking of it in the sense of words like delineate and describe -- 'to draw a circle' being the original definition and the other senses following by extension
August 15, 2011
rolig commented on the word decircinate
Clearly, this means: "to restore humans to their natural form after being turned into pigs by Circe".
August 15, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word decircinate
The Century's first definition for circinate has the bit about making "a circle (upon) with a pair of compasses."
And rolig, don't forget the related term "uncircinate," which would describe those humans before their transformation.
August 15, 2011
bilby commented on the word decircinate
10 rcircinates (metric system).
August 15, 2011