Passing remarks around Republican circle (5)

I believe the answer is:

orbit

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'circle' is the definition.
(I know that orbit is a type of circle)

'passing remarks around republican' is the wordplay.
'passing remarks' becomes 'obit' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'around' indicates putting letters inside.
'republican' becomes 'r' (abbreviation).
'obit' enclosing 'r' is 'ORBIT'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for orbit that I've seen before include "Planet's course" , "Path of one celestial body around another" , "Revolve around" , "Revolve round" , "Path of planet around sun" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.