Emily Dickinson Lexicon

circumstance (-s), n. [OFr < L. circumstantia, standing around, surrounding condition.] (webplay: action, escape, estate, natural, place, property).

1. Fact; case; proof; testimony; witness; legal argument; piece of evidence; [fig.] consequence; result.
2. Reality; actual situation; present condition; time, place, manner, cause, occasion, etc.; [fig.] mortality.
3. Life; way of being; state of affairs.