Avoiding L#tin (Circa 2003)

the Neolithic age (c. 8000-5000 b.c.)

what is the first "c." short for?

Circa. It means "about."

It's a L***n word, almost never used in spoken or informal English.

We try to avoid writing down the word L*tin around here. Search engine spiders picked up on a few people asking for translations, which snowballed. Since that's not our purpose, we try to minimize the damage.

Since the Woolf reforms that came into effect in 1999, L#tin has been discouraged in English law. Stupid thing is that quite a bit was useful to express particular tenets or principles - and everybody knows what an 'affidavit' is, yet the use of that word is prohibited - but only in civil, not family, proceedings. I regularly hear and see the word 'circa' used - it sounds more pleasant that 'about' and has the added nuance of implying date, whereas 'about' is a general 'in the region of' expression, equally at home with area, date or pure number.

Let us not lose those infants with the provebial aqua.