circle

Everyday

1. A circle is a round flat shape. Every point on its edge is the same distance from the middle (the centre). tree →
2. A circle of people or things is a group arranged in a ring. tree →
3. To circle something is to draw a ring around it: «circle the answer». tree →
4. To circle is to move round and round something: «the plane circled the airport». tree →
5. A circle of friends is a group of friends. tree →
6. A circle can also be one full round of time that ends where it began, such as a day or a year. tree →

In the lessons

In school maths: a shape with a centre, radius (centre to edge), diameter (edge to edge through the centre, twice the radius) and circumference (the distance around); things arranged in a circle (gaps equal things); «circle the right answer». In everyday life: circle time, sitting in a circle, a traffic circle (roundabout). Phrases: «in a circle», «circle the answer», «full circle», «circle time».

Examples

• 6 children stand in a circle. tree →
• Trees are planted around a circle. tree →
• Circle the right answer. tree →
• Draw a circle with radius 3 cm. tree →
• The diameter of a circle is twice the radius. tree →
• We sat in a circle for circle time. tree →
• Eagles circled high above the hill. tree →
• A circle has no corners and no straight sides. tree →
• In a few moments the day had completed its circle. tree →

Note

Countable: «a circle». A circle is flat; a ball (a sphere) is round in 3D. Maths: in a circle the number of gaps equals the number of things (not one less); diameter = 2 × radius. Trap: using the line rule (+1) on a circle.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In Sefer Yetzirah the 22 letters are set around a circle and combined in pairs. The tradition reads this as the way God made everything from letters. The prophets and Proverbs also speak of the circle of the earth and a circle set on the face of the deep, showing God's shaping of the world. In the primary lessons: In school maths: a shape with a centre, radius (centre to edge), diameter (edge to edge through the centre, twice the radius) and circumference (the distance around); things arranged in a circle (gaps equal things); «circle the right answer». In everyday life: circle time, sitting in a circle, a traffic circle (roundabout). Phrases: «in a circle», «circle the answer», «full circle», «circle time».

Examples

• Drawing the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet around the edge of a circle, it takes 231 lines, here called שְׁעָרִים sheʽarim ‘gates’, to connect every possible combination of 2 letters. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• circle Q or Q is each a letter. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• elementary cliaracters, or letters, derive tlieir forms from the line and the circle. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• When He established the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep, (Writings PRO.8.27, JPS 1917) tree →
• It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; (Prophets ISA.40.22, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: «a circle». A circle is flat; a ball (a sphere) is round in 3D. Maths: in a circle the number of gaps equals the number of things (not one less); diameter = 2 × radius. Trap: using the line rule (+1) on a circle.