Circa
(Redirected from C.)
- See Circa (skateboarding) for the skateboarding industry brand name.
The Latin word circa, literally meaning about, is often used to describe various dates (often birth and death dates) that are uncertain. The word is often abbreviated as c., ca., or cca.
For example, one could say that Jesus died ca. 33 AD/CE, since the precise date of his death (and his birth) is unknown. The further back in time a given date is, the broader the time period which circa encompasses:
- Within the last hundred years, circa should be accurate to within five years (e.g., 1940, 1945, 1950, 1955);
- Within the last five hundred years, circa should be accurate to within ten years (e.g., 1720, 1730, 1740, 1750);
- Within the last thousand years, circa should be accurate to within twenty-five years (e.g., 1250, 1275, 1300, 1325);
- Within the last two thousand years, circa should be accurate to within fifty years (e.g., 150s, 200s, 250s, 300s);
- Within the span of recorded human history, circa should be accurate to within one hundred to two hundred years.af:Circa