Circa

Circa is the Latin word for "around" or "about". It is often used in genealogy to show when something approximately happened. It is often shortened to c., ca., ca or cca.

An encyclopedia entry may begin with circa in the date of birth, for example: "Genghis Khan (c. 1162 – August 18, 1227)". The "c." means that he was born in about 1162, but there is no exact date. Sometimes the circa symbol is italicized to show that it is Latin.