This week we’re looking at exercises you can do when you’re trying to figure out the definition of a word you’ve never seen before. Chances are you’ll have seen part of the word elsewhere, such as a prefix (un- or pre- or super-, for example) or a suffix (-ation, -ology, -ize) that will help you target the word’s meaning. Another useful exercise is to identify the root of the word, and compare it to other words using that same root for which you know the definition.

In a circuit, you are going around and around. The word circuit comes from the roots circum (around) and ire (to go). Something or someone that is circuitous does not go straight to the heart of the matter or to the goal, but instead goes around and around the long way.

Example 1: On Sunday we made a circuit of all of the wineries in Napa Valley.

Example 2: After all the wine-tasting sessions, we got lost and ended up driving back on a circuitous path along back roads and bypasses.

The root circum appears in many other words that have the general meaning of “going around” or “circling.” Here are a few more examples:

circumference
Definition: the perimeter or edge all around a circle or other self-contained area
Example: The rancher set up a new fence at the circumference of the pasture to keep the cows from straying.

circumscribe
Definition: (literal) to draw a line around, (metaphorical) to contain or restrict
Example 1: The surveyor uses a piece of chalk on a string to circumscribe the area where the hole for the pillar will be excavated.
Example 2: Charles is on probation at school and because his activities have been circumscribed he’s no longer able to go on day trips with the other students.

circumnavigate
Definition: to travel around, especially when traveling by ship
Example: Early explorers such as Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus dreamed of circumnavigating the globe.

Don’t be circumspect (going carefully around, avoiding) in your vocabulary study – jump right in and start looking at words from the inside out.