How do you use circa in a sentence?

Answer 1

Circa means "around" or "about". If the exact date of an event is uncertain, "circa" may be used to indicate that the date is somewhere within about 10 years of the "circa" year given. ex. He was born circa 1820. (This means that the birth date was somewhere between 1810 and 1830.)

If the exact date is known, use of the word "circa" is negated. Many people (especially online) will give an exact date such as June 1, 1898, preceded by "circa" because they are not certain on exactly which day the event occurred. The public would be better served and the event better defined by simply saying "the event occurred near this date. As was stated above, "circa" denotes a broad span of up to 20 years which could place the event in a totally different generation.