circumspect (2009-04-28)

Part of Speech: adjective

Pronunciation: ['sêr-kêm-spekt]

Definition: Judicious, cautious, prudent, aware of surrounding circumstances and the implications of one's act(s).

Usage: The lack of circumspection is an open door for trouble, "Had Harold been a bit more circumspect about the money he embezzled from the company, he might be living in a villa on the Costa del Sol now." Generally, politicians are, if anything, too circumspect. But even if you want to distance yourself from ordinary politicians, better not abandon circumspection. Had presidential candidate Howard Dean's reaction to losing the Iowa Caucus been a bit more circumspect, he might still be leading the race in New Hampshire.

Suggested Usage: The adverb for today's word is "circumspectly" and the noun, "circumspection." The verb is rare but still out there, available to those brave enough to put it to use, as to circumspect (examine from all sides) a question carefully before answering it.

Etymology: Today's word comes from Latin circumspectus, past participle of circumspicere "to take heed," based on circum "(all) around "+ specere "to look." We have talked about the root spec- on several other occasions, so today let's take a look at the preposition "circum." It goes back to a root *kirk- in Proto-Indo-European that also appears in Latin circus "ring, circle," borrowed from Greek kirkos "circle." An interesting fact about the meaning of "round, around" is that it almost always takes on the second meaning of "approximately." In other words, "around 5" means somewhere in a circle around 5 but not directly in the middle, where 5 itself stands. English "around," German "um," and Russian "okolo" share these same two meanings. In Latin, the related word "circa" was also used in this sense, as circa 1855 "about 1855."