Circuit

Forms: 4–6 cir-, cyrcuyt(e, 4–7 circuite, (5 -cute, sircuyte, 6 cyrcute, -cuite, -quet, 7 cercuit, syrkett,) 4– circuit. [a. F. circuit, ad. L. circuitus going round, f. circu(m)īre, f. circum round + īre to go.]

  1.  The line, real or imaginary, described in going round any area; the distance round; the compass, circumference, containing line or limits.

1382.  Wyclif, Ecclus. xliii. 12. See the bowe … He cumpaside heuene in the circuyt [1388 cumpas] of his glorie.

c. 1386.  Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 1029. The circuit a myle was aboute Walled of stoon and dyched al with oute.

c. 1400.  Maundev., xviii. 187. Java … is nyghe 2000 Myle in circuyt.

1570.  Billingsley, Euclid, I. iv. 14. The circuite or compasse of a triangle is a line composed of all the sides of a triangle.

1593.  Shaks., 3 Hen. VI., I. ii. 30. To weare a Crowne, Within whose Circuit is Elizium.

1652.  Needham, Domin. Sea, Advt. 2. The circuit of this Sea … must contein above 1200 miles.

1704.  Addison, Italy (1766), 124. Sheltered with a noble circuit of woods and mountains.

1847.  Grote, Greece, IV. II. lii. A rude Circuit of stones, of unknown origin.

  † b.  concr. = CIRCLET, diadem. Obs.

1593.  Shaks., 2 Hen. VI., III. i. 352. The Golden Circuit on my Head, Like to the glorious Sunnes transparant Beames.

  † c.  fig. ‘Round,’ ‘circle.’ Obs.

1673.  Lady’s Call., I. § 4. 29. If a poor country gentlewoman fall within their circuit, what a stock of mirth does she afford them.

1752.  Johnson, Rambler, No. 206, ¶ 8. A feast within the circuit of his acquaintance.

  2.  The space enclosed by a given circumference or boundary; area, extent, tract.

1483.  Caxton, Gold. Leg., 58/4. On the morn ther laye lyke dewe All aboute in their circuyte.

1494.  Fabyan, V. lxxxiii. 60. A large and great circuyt of grounde, vpon the whiche he shortly after buylded and sette a large and stronge Castell.

1535.  Act 27 Hen. VIII., c. 27. The scites and circuites of all such religious houses.

1590.  Earl Essex, in Ellis, Orig. Lett., II. 214, III. 82. A great circuit of ground in a very good soyle.

1711.  Pope, Temp. Fame, 309. The sound That fills the circuit of the world around.

1765.  Act 5 Geo. III., c. 26. Preamb., All those houses, scites, circuits, and precincts.

1856.  Bryant, Poems, June, vi. The pomp that fills The circuit of the summer hills.

  b.  fig. Sphere of action, etc.

1597.  J. Payne, Royal Exch., 21. Then may that circuit be counted happie conteyninge so vertuouse an examplar.

1719.  De Foe, Crusoe (1840), II. vi. 133. Jf you give me leave to meddle so far in your circuit.

  3.  The action of going or moving round or about; a circular journey, a round. b. A round-about journey or course; a detour.

1413.  Lydg., Pilgr. Sowle, V. i. 70. The spyeres entercounted to geders in their circute … about the erth.

1530.  Palsgr., 177. Cyrcvite, a cyrcute, a goyng or compassynge about a thyng.

1611.  Bible, Ps. xix. 6. His going forth is from the end of the heauen, and his circuite vnto the ends of it.

1687.  Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), I. 405. Bishop Leybourn is goeing a circuit to confirm the new converts in the Romish faith.

1724.  Swift, Drapier’s Lett., Wks. 1755, V. II. 127. The bell-man of each parish, as he goes his circuit.

1785.  Reid, Int. Powers, 263. Either in a straight course, or by some circuit.

1795.  Gibbon, Autobiog., 78. I devoted many hours … to the circuit of Paris.

1812.  Woodhouse, Astron., viii. 49. Its [the clock’s] index or hand ought to perform an exact circuit in the course of a day.

1856.  Kane, Arct. Expl., I. xxii. 274. They … could only advance by long circuits.

1876.  Green, Short Hist., vii. § 6 (1882), 407. After completing the circuit of the globe.

  c.  fig.; esp. of time: Revolution, round. † By circuit: at regularly recurring times (obs.).

1601.  Cornwallyes, Disc. Seneca (1631), 72. When the daies cercuit is finished.

1651.  R. Wittie, trans. Primrose’s Pop. Err., III. 149. It is good to give nothing to them that have fits by circuit.

1661.  Ussher, Power Princes, II. (1683), 235. Many circuits of years I pray you may live.

1784.  Cowper, Task, IV. 119. Fancy, like the finger of a clock, Runs the great circuit, and is still at home.

1878.  Huxley, Physiogr., xx. 348. The circuit of changes is completed in the course of a year.

  d.  Phrases (sometimes influenced by 4), as in † To go, ride, walk circuit = one’s round. To † fetch, make, take a circuit: to make a detour, take a circuitous or round-about course. To make or go the circuit of: to go round, go the round of. † To run circuit with (fig.): app. to follow the same lines as, to be concomitant with.

1547.  Boorde, Introd. Knowl., 163. To fetch the cyrcuyte about Christendome.

1551.  Robinson, trans. More’s Utop., 72. Fetching about a circuite or compasse.

1609.  Bible (Douay), 1 Kings xviii. 6. They divided the countries … that they might goe circuite about them.

1645.  Milton, Colast., Wks. (1851), 356. The rest of this will run circuit with the union of one flesh, which was answer’d before.

a. 1656.  Vines, Lord’s Supp. (1677), 4. They should be safe from the destroying Angel, that rode circuit that night to kill all Ægypts first-born.

1665.  Manley, Grotius’ Low C. Warres, 295. Verdugo … got past the Rhine, by taking a long Circuit.

1751.  Chatham, Lett. Nephew, ii. 5. Your letter … after making a considerable circuit to find me.

1826.  Disraeli, Viv. Grey, II. xii. 59. Now the Marquess … ‘went the circuit,’ that is to say, made the grand tour of the suite of apartments.

1838.  Murray’s Hand-bk. N. Germ., 448. The pedestrian … should make a circuit to the left.

a. 1876.  J. H. Newman, Hist. Sk., II. I. i. 5. Making a circuit of the neighbouring towns.

  4.  spec. The journey of judges (or other persons) through certain appointed areas, for the purpose of holding courts or performing other stated duties at various places in succession; the visitation of the judges for holding assizes.

1494.  Fabyan, VII. 344. Iudgys ordeyned to kepe a cyrcuyte, as nowe they kepe the sysys in the tyme of vacacyon.

1503–4.  Act 19 Hen. VII., c. 7 § 1. The justices of assises in ther cyrcuyte or progresse in that shyre.

1592.  Greene, Art Conny Catch., III. 5. What hee spake of either came to him by examinations, or by riding in the circuits.

1611.  Bible, 1 Sam. vii. 16. He went from yeere to yeere in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and iudged Israel.

1675.  Teonge, Diary (1825), 95–6. He goes his syrkett every yeare in the nature of on of our Judges.

1768.  Blackstone, Comm., III. 58. They usually make their circuits in the respective vacations after Hilary and Trinity terms.

1848.  Macaulay, Hist. Eng., I. 636. It was thought desirable that the Western Circuit should not begin till the other circuits had terminated.

1851.  Thackeray, Eng. Hum., ii. (1858), 114. The judges and the bar ride the circuit.

1861.  Willes, in Ex parte Fernandez, 30 Law J. C. P., 338. The law gives to the Justices of Assize during their circuits the aid and control of the sheriff of each county.

  fig.  1654.  R. Whitlock, Ζωοτομια, 538. When Christ shall go his circuit to judge the World in Righteousnesse.

1657.  Hinchley, in Spurgeon, Treas. Dav., Ps. lviii. 11. A time when God will ride his circuit here in a solemn manner.

  b.  concr. Those making the circuit; the judges and barristers; now esp. the latter.

a. 1714.  Burnet, Own Time, II. 413. The circuits went round the country [of Scotland] as was directed by the proclamation.

1862.  Lond. Rev., 30 Aug., 182. The days when the Northern Circuit rode on horseback across the marshes.

1872.  Helps, Ess., Organiz. Daily Life, 195. A leading member of the Circuit.

  5.  The district or division of country through which the judge makes his circuit.

  There are now eight such districts in England and Wales, each including several counties, viz. the Northern, North Eastern, Midland, Western, Oxford, Home or South Eastern, North Wales, and South Wales Circuits.

1574.  Rich, Dial. Mercury & Eng. Soldier. Euerye petye Constable of euerye Parrysh within his cyrquet.

1642.  Charles I., Lett. Judges of Ass., 5 July (1641), 6. Some of the ablest Lawyers who ride that Circuit.

1649.  Selden, Laws Eng., I. iv. (1739), 10. Their Country they divided into Counties or Circuits all under the government of twelve Lords.

1753.  Chambers, Cycl. Supp., s.v. Justiciary, The country [Scotland] … is divided into three circuits, the south, west, and north.

1882.  Serjt. Ballantine, Experiences, v. 51. In choosing a circuit, a barrister … is bound by his first choice.

  6.  A territorial division of the Methodist churches, comprising a number of congregations lying around some central town or place, and supplied by a series of itinerant preachers.

1766.  Wesley, Wks. (1872), III. 256. The Societies in this Circuit increase.

1791.  J. Hampson, Mem. J. Wesley, III. 73. Every part of Britain and America is divided into regular portions, called circuits; and each circuit, containing twenty or thirty places, is supplied by a certain number of travelling preachers, from two to three or four, who go round it in a month or six weeks.

1839.  Penny Cycl., XV. 142. A number of these circuits … are united and known as a district.

1885.  Minutes Wesleyan Conf., 43. Each of the places mentioned in these Stations … is the head of a circuit.

  7.  Elect. The course traversed by an electric current between the two poles of a battery; the path of a voltaic current.

1800.  Med. Jrnl., IV. 122. I certainly saw the spark at the time of completing the circuit.

1839.  G. Bird, Nat. Philos., 199. With the largest circuit yet employed, their union appears to be absolutely instantaneous.

1870.  Tyndall, Lect. Electr., 2. Interrupting the circuit…. Establishing the circuit.

1878.  Foster, Phys., III. i. 394. Closing a galvanic circuit.

1881.  Spottiswoode, in Nature, No. 623. 546. When the circuit is broken, so that the current is interrupted … the wire resumes its ordinary condition.

  † 8.  Roundabout process or mode: † a. of speech or expression: circumlocution. Obs.

1552.  Huloet, Circuit in wordes, ambages.

1605.  Bacon, Adv. Learn., I. iv. § 2. New terms of art to express their own sense, and to avoid circuit of speech.

1672.  Marvell, Reh. Transp., I. 27. This design of his he draws out in such a circuit of words.

  b.  of reasoning or the like.

1594.  Hooker, Eccl. Pol., II. 98. By long circuit of deduction it may be that euen all truth out of anie truth may be concluded.

a. 1631.  Donne, Progr. Soul, in Poems (1633), 270 (J.).

1836.  I. Taylor, Phys. Th. Another Life (1857), 15. Or at best demonstrate its reality by a circuit of reasoning.

  c.  Law. esp. Circuit of Action = CIRCUITY.

a. 1626.  Bacon, Max. & Uses Com. Law, vi. 29. The law in many cases … turneth a man over to a further circuit of remedy.

1670.  Blount, Law Dict., Circuit of Action … is a longer course of proceeding to recover the thing sued for then is needful.

1751.  in Chambers, Cycl.

  9.  Path. The period of a disease. (Syd. Soc. Lex.)

  10.  attrib. and in Comb., as circuit barrister, counsel, -commission, -journey, -judge, -room, table, etc. (sense 4); circuit-superintendent, -work, etc. (sense 6); circuit-breaker, an instrument that at regular intervals interrupts an electric current; circuit-closer, any device for closing an electric current; circuit-court, in Scotland, a court held periodically in the principal towns, similar in function to the English ASSIZE; in U.S. (a) Federal courts intermediate in authority between the District Courts and the Supreme Court of the U.S. (see Kent, Commentaries, I, ch. on Constitution); (b) various State Courts so-called for different reasons in particular States; circuit-steward, a principal member in the Methodist circuit nominated yearly by the superintendent.

1850.  C. Phillips, Curran and his Contemp., 82. Egan was then a *circuit barrister in good practice.

1874.  Knight, Dict. Mech., s.v. Rheotome or *circuitbreaker.

1879.  G. Prescott, Sp. Telephone, 251. A delicate circuit-breaker … arranged to break the circuit of a telegraph line at the vibration.

1768.  Blackstone, Comm., III. 354. The judges are sure to come and open the *circuit commissions on the day mentioned.

1708.  Royal Proclam., 11 July, in Lond. Gaz., No. 4456/1. We hereby Appoint … the said *Circuit-Courts of Justiciary to be Holden … Twice in the Year.

1843.  Penny Cycl., XXVI. 17. The Circuit courts have appellate jurisdiction from the district courts. They have exclusive cognizance of offences against the United States.

1844.  Ld. Brougham, Brit. Const., App. (1862), 419. This power of adjudging a law unconstitutional is also possessed by the Circuit Courts of the United States.

1844.  H. H. Wilson, Brit. India, II. 529. The *Circuit Judge was authorised to require immediate decision.

1839.  Penny Cycl., XV. 142/1. About the termination of every quarter, the ministers, *circuit-stewards, etc., meet.

1882.  Serjt. Ballantine, Experiences, I. 66. John Locke … was the very soul of the *circuit-table.