Latin, about, around, approximately, a word often paired with a year to refer to the likely time in history when a given event happened.
Circa is abbreviated ca. or c. and generally implies a greater possible deviation from the estimated time, the longer ago the event was. More recent events may be accurate within one or two years; more ancient events may only be accurate to a geologic era spanning several million years or longer.
If a word was coined ca. 1600, then it likely first appeared in use sometime between 1595 and 1605.
Separate from its meaning as an indicator of approximation, Circa is a brand of office supplies sold by the Levenger company. The Circa brand is applied to disc-bound notebooks and the paper products which can be used in them. It is very similar to the ARC system of disc-bound products produced by Staples, and paper altered with a Circa hole punch is able to be used in the less expensive ARC notebooks. Rollabind and the Foray Revolution system by Office Depot are likewise compatible with Arc and Circa. Circa, Rollabind, Foray, and ARC products are incompatible with Myndology and Atoma products, however, due to the different shapes of their respective binding discs and the spacing of holes in the paper intended for those discs.
Iron Noder 2015, 20/30