Circa (from Latin, meaning “around, about”), usually abbreviated c. or ca. (also circ. or cca. ), means “approximately” in the English language, usually referring to a date. Circa is widely used in genealogy and historical writing when the dates of events are not precisely known. When used in date ranges, the term “circa” is applied before each approximate date, while dates without “circa” immediately preceding them are generally assumed to be known with certainty.
