cirque

Meaning

Noun

• A curved depression in a mountainside with steep walls, forming the end of a valley.
• Something in the shape of a circle or ring, such as a Roman circus.

Origin

• Borrowed from French cirque ("circular arena; cirque"), from Latin circus ("circle, ring"), from Ancient Greek κίρκος ("circle, ring; racecourse, circus"), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ("to bend; to turn"). circus.