circumstance

Etymology

From Middle English circumstaunce, from Old French circonstance, from Latin circumstantia.

noun

1. Something which is related to, or in some way affects, a fact or event.
   The report should focus on to the current circumstances of the organisation, to help us find a way to grow in the future.
   She went missing in somewhat spooky circumstances.
   The circumstances are well known in the country where they happened. 1819, Washington Irving, The Broken Heart
   The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely according to her own ideas. […] 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tragedy in Dartmoor Terrace, →OL
2. An event; a fact; a particular incident, occurrence, or condition (status).
   Then another circumstance happened, which made a lasting impression on my memory, though I was but a small child. 1834, David Crockett, chapter I, in A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.[…], Philadelphia, Pa.: E[dward] L[awrence] Carey and A[braham] Hart; Boston, Mass.: Allen & Ticknor, →OCLC, page 20
3. Circumlocution; detail.
4. Condition in regard to worldly estate; state of property; situation; surroundings.
   She was born into comfortable circumstances.

verb

1. To place in a particular situation, especially with regard to money or other resources.
   While also taxing Ferrein with the same motives, Diderot's account of his doings is much more circumstanced than La Mettrie's, and also much more amusing, thanks to the interpolation of the «bijoux» motif. 1949, Diderot Studies, volume 11, page 170