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a group of traveling entertainers including acrobats, clowns, and trained animals, or a performance by such a group, often in a tent: He quit school in the eighth grade to join the circus. We saw the circus set up in a tent in the middle of the city. A circus is also something noisy and confused:
Many days he was in the saddle sixteen or more hours of the day. Until ‘Gas’ took over completely in 1938 and 1940, this man was really the ‘king of the circus lot’. -C-. Calliope: A discordant musical consisting of a series of whistles activated by either air or steam.
There are 14 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun circus, two of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
a large, usually oblong or oval, roofless enclosure, surrounded by tiers of seats rising one above another, for chariot races, public games, etc. an entertainment given in this Roman arena, as a chariot race or public game: The Caesars appeased the public with bread and circuses.
- Overview
- Origins
circus, an entertainment or spectacle usually consisting of trained animal acts and exhibitions of human skill and daring. The word has the same root as circle and circumference, recalling the distinctive environment in which such entertainment is presented—the ring, a circular performance area usually bounded by a short fence (or “curb”). The ring may be enclosed in an arena, in a building designed for circus performances, or in a tent, and it is generally surrounded by tiers of seats for spectators.
Variations to this definition exist, however, and any attempt at a strict, all-inclusive definition reduces the term’s application to a particular nationality, generation, or proprietorship. Some circuses do not use trained animals, for example, such as the circuses of China and Africa, which feature acrobatic acts similar to those elsewhere, albeit with traditions rooted in religion and folklore. At various times circuses have offered supplementary attractions such as street parades, menageries, sideshows, pantomimes, and theatrical presentations. A number of circuses, especially in Europe, have been stationary, occupying permanent, often elegant buildings in larger cities. Others have traveled extensively—originally by horse and wagon and then by railroad, boat, motor vehicle, or even airplane—and exhibited in tents, theatres, and, beginning in the 1960s, huge enclosed sports arenas. Many circus companies, particularly in the United States, exhibit simultaneously in three or more rings, with the building or tent taking on a rectangular or elliptical shape; others retain the one-ring format. Some organizations, such as the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, could point to a history extending back a century or more; other circuses, such as those sponsored by fraternal organizations (e.g., the Shriners), existed for less than a single season or for only one engagement. Through all the above, however, there runs a common thread: the ring, by which spectators readily recognize the entertainment known as “circus.”
The circus is of comparatively recent origin, yet certain elements can be traced back to ancient Rome. The great Roman amphitheatres—called circuses after the Latin word for “circle”—were most often devoted to gladiatorial combats, chariot races, the slaughter of animals, mock battles, and other blood sports. The most spectacular of these arenas, the Circus Maximus, was in operation for more than 1,000 years. It would seem on the surface that these exhibitions of carnage had little in common with modern circuses, yet it is from the early Roman circuses that traditions such as trained animals and the preshow parade derive.
Elsewhere, ancient peoples performed other acts associated with the modern circus. Acrobatics, balancing acts, and juggling are probably as old as humankind itself, with records of such acts being performed in Egypt as early as 2500 bce. The Greeks practiced ropedancing; early African civilizations engaged in siricasi (a combination of folkloric dances and acrobatics); and the ancient Chinese juggled and performed acrobatic acts for members of the imperial court. Clowns have existed in nearly every period and civilization, both as characters in farces and as individual performers.
For centuries, however, there were no attempts to organize such acts into a distinct entertainment; rather, individuals and small troupes of performers with specialized talents wandered through Europe, Africa, and Asia. Such roving entertainers appeared wherever groups of people gathered: in nobles’ halls, at community celebrations, and at marketplaces. In the 9th century King Alfred the Great of England was said to have been entertained by a wild beast show, and in the 11th century William the Conqueror brought performing troupes of ropedancers, tumblers, and contortionists to England from France.
Fairs played an important role in developing trade throughout Europe from the 7th century until the late medieval period, at which point more-regular channels of marketing were standardized. Fairs then became a place less for trading than for entertainment, providing a showcase for acrobatics, feats of skill, trained animals, and other elements later associated with the circus. By the late 18th century, however, they were regarded as unsavory affairs, as they had become gathering places for pickpockets, thieves, and vagrants.
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A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists.
The meaning of CIRCUS is a large arena enclosed by tiers of seats on three or all four sides and used especially for sports or spectacles (such as athletic contests, exhibitions of horsemanship, or in ancient times chariot racing). How to use circus in a sentence.
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