PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

circulus brevis ‘epicycle’

Latin. – Grammar: noun.

References: Alm. minor Zepeda: V.7. – Pontano: LIIc. 14; LXIIIc. 7
Synonyms:
Epicyclum
circulus parvus[Alm. minor Zepeda: III.6]
epiciclus[Alm. minor Zepeda: III.3]