Circus

The definition of the word Circus is defined by the dictionary.com as follows:

Circus

[sur-kuh s] 

noun, plural circuses.

1.

a large public entertainment, typically presented in one or more verylarge tents or in an outdoor or indoor arena, featuring exhibitions ofpageantry, feats of skill and daring, performing animals, etc.,interspersed throughout with the slapstick antics of clowns.

Compare big top.

2.

a troupe of performers, especially a traveling troupe, that presents such entertainments, together with officials, other employees, and the company's performing animals, traveling wagons, tents, cages, and equipment.

3.

a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats, in which public entertainments are held; arena.

4.

1. a large, usually oblong or oval, roofless enclosure, surrounded by tiers of seats rising one above another, for chariot races, public games, etc.
2. an entertainment given in this Roman arena, as a chariot race or public game:
   The Caesars appeased the public with bread and circuses.

5.

anything resembling the Roman circus, or arena, as a natural amphitheater or a circular range of houses.

6.

flying circus.

7.

British. an open circle, square, or plaza where several streets converge:

Piccadilly Circus.

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The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes the word and how/where it originated:

Origin

Late Middle English (with reference to the arena of Roman antiquity): from Latin, 'ring or circus'. The sense 'traveling company of performers' dates from the late 18th century.

circle from Old English:

The root of circle is Latin circulus ‘small ring’, from circus ‘ring’, the source of our word circus(Late Middle English). A Roman circus was a rounded or oval arena lined with tiers of seats, where chariot races, gladiatorial combats, and other, often cruel, contests took place. Names like Piccadilly Circus were attached to open, more or less circular areas in towns where streets converged. Other words from the same root include circuit (Late Middle English) from Latin circum ire ‘go around’, and circulate (Late Middle English) ‘move in a circular path’. Come or turn full circle is a reference to ‘The Wheele is come full circle’ in Shakespeare's King Lear. The wheel is the one thought of as being turned by the goddess Fortune and symbolizing change.