cirque

Meaning

1. A Roman circus.
2. A curved depression or natural amphitheatre, especially one in a mountainside at the end of a valley.
3. Something in the shape of a circle or ring.

Synonyms

cwm

corrie

circus

dell

dingle

valley

kar

glacial amphitheater

circle

⭕

glacial cirque

circlet

Pronounced as (IPA)

/sɜːk/

Etymology

Borrowed from French cirque (“circular arena; cirque”), from Latin circus (“circle, ring”), from Ancient Greek κίρκος (kírkos, “circle, ring; racecourse, circus”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend; to turn”). Doublet of circus.