circuit
Definitions
A complete path around which an electric current flows.
电路；回路
A roughly circular route, lap, or boundary line.
环形路线；一圈
A regular series of places or events visited in turn (e.g. a tennis circuit, the lecture circuit).
巡回赛事/活动；巡回路线
To move all the way around something.
环行；绕行
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin circuitus, from circum- (around) + ire (to go) = 'a going-around.' The core is a closed loop you travel and return on. An electric current runs a closed loop (a circuit); a judge once rode a fixed loop of towns (the court circuit); performers tour a fixed loop of venues (the comedy circuit).
Root circ still carries 57 more wordsWhy It Means This
circuit hides the verb ire ('to go') inside it: circum + ire = 'go around.' That one image — a fixed loop you travel and come back on — explains its very different modern uses. In electricity, current must flow a complete loop back to the source, or nothing works; break the loop and the circuit is 'open.' In law and entertainment, a circuit is a fixed round of stops: judges, preachers and comedians all 'rode the circuit,' looping through the same towns season after season. Same closed loop, very different worlds.
Common Collocations
- 1.electrical circuit电路
- 2.circuit breaker断路器
- 3.short circuit短路
- 4.lecture circuit巡回演讲
Example Sentences
- 1.
A loose wire broke the circuit and the lights went out.
- 2.
The runners did three circuits of the park.
- 3.
She's a regular on the international tennis circuit.
- 4.
After his book came out, he joined the lecture circuit.