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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Circus \Cir"cus\, noun; pl. {Circuses}. [L. circus circle, ring, circus (in sense 1). See {Circle}, and cf. {Cirque}.]
1. (Roman Antiq.) A level oblong space surrounded on three sides by seats of wood, earth, or stone, rising in tiers one above another, and divided lengthwise through the middle by a barrier around which the track or course was laid out. It was used for chariot races, games, and public shows.
Note: The Circus Maximus at Rome could contain more than 100,000 spectators. --Harpers' Latin Dict.
2. A circular inclosure for the exhibition of feats of horsemanship, acrobatic displays, etc. Also, the company of performers, with their equipage.
3. Circuit; space; inclosure. [R.]
The narrow circus of my dungeon wall. --Byron.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
circus
noun
1: a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals; "he ran away from home to join the circus"
2: performance given by a traveling company of acrobats clowns and trained animals; "the children always love to go to the circus"
3: a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a circus or carnival; "it was so funny it was a circus"; "the whole occasion had a carnival atmosphere" [syn: {carnival}]
4: (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games
5: an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent; "they used the elephants to help put up the circus"
6: a genus of haws comprising the harriers [syn: {genus Circus}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
149 Moby Thesaurus words for "circus": Broadway, O, agora, amphitheater, annular muscle, annulus, arena, areola, athletic field, auditorium, aureole, background, bear garden, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring, burlesque, burlesque show, campus, canvas, carnival, chaplet, circle, circuit, circumference, closed circle, cockpit, coliseum, colosseum, coochie show, corona, coronet, course, crescent, crown, cycle, diadem, discus, disk, drama, entertainment industry, eternal return, fairy ring, fantoccini, field, floor, floor show, forum, galanty show, garland, girly show, glory, ground, gym, gymnasium, hall, halo, hippodrome, hootchy-kootchy show, lasso, leg show, legit, legitimate stage, light show, lists, locale, logical circle, loop, looplet, magic circle, magic show, marketplace, mat, milieu, noose, off Broadway, off-off-Broadway, ombres chinoises, open forum, orbit, palaestra, parade ground, peep show, pit, place, platform, playland, precinct, prize ring, public square, puppet show, purlieu, radius, range, raree-show, rep show, repertory drama, repertory show, ring, rodeo, rondelle, round, roundel, saucer, scene, scene of action, scenery, setting, shadow show, show biz, show business, sideshow, site, sphere, sphincter, squared circle, stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, stage world, stagedom, stageland, stock, strawhat, strawhat circuit, summer stock, terrain, the big top, the boards, the footlights, the scenes, the stage, the theater, theater, theater world, theatromania, theatrophobia, tilting ground, tiltyard, variety, variety show, vaudeville, vaudeville show, vicious circle, walk, wheel, wreath, wrestling ring
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
CIRCUS, noun A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.
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