Zirkus

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin circus.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈt͡sɪʁkʊs/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Zirkus m (strong, genitive Zirkus or Zirkusses, plural Zirkusse)

  1. (historical) circus (arena in Antiquity)
  2. circus (kind of entertainment show)
  3. (colloquial) exaggerated and annoying ado; airs; fuss, e.g. of a child, at an event, etc.; dog and pony show
    Mach keinen Zirkus und setz dich hin!
    Don't make a dog and pony show and sit down!
  4. (colloquial, by extension) something complicated and annoying; rigmarole; chore
    Das ist immer ein Zirkus, hier langzufahren, wenn Schalke spielt.
    It’s always a rigmarole driving around here when Schalke are playing.

Usage notes
  • The genitive des Zirkusses is very rare.

Declension
Declension of Zirkus [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Zirkus die Zirkusse
genitive eines des Zirkus, Zirkusses1 der Zirkusse
dative einem dem Zirkus, Zirkusse1,2 den Zirkussen
accusative einen den Zirkus die Zirkusse

1Very rare.
2Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

Descendants
  • → Kashubian: cyrkus
  • → Russian: цирк (cirk) (see there for further descendants)

Further reading
  • “Zirkus” in Duden online
  • “Zirkus” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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