Circus

A circus is most commonly a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts and the word also describes the performance that they give. A circus is held in a oval or circular arena with tiered seating around its circumference; in the case of traveling circuses this location is most often a large tent.

Notes

• {{mnb|OED|1}}The Oxford English Dictionary lists the 1791 book The History of the Royal Circus about Philip Astley's troupe as the first written use of the word to describe the modern circus.