What does the prefix circum- indicate?

• A. Near
• B. Above
• C. Within
• D. Around

Answer: (D)

Circum- means around or encircling. It comes from Latin and is used to convey something that goes all the way around or surrounds something else. You can see it in words like circumference (the distance around a circle), circumnavigate (to travel around something), and circumstantial (relating to surrounding circumstances). This is different from near, which would use a prefix like proxim- to indicate closeness; above, which would use super- or supra to indicate higher position; or within, which uses intra- or endo- to indicate being inside. So circum- explicitly signals around rather than closeness, above, or inside.