Etymologically
Log in

citation

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:17. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌsaɪˈteɪʃn̩/[1]
  • US: /ˌsaɪˈteɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English citacioun,[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman citacioun and citation,[4][5] and partly also from Latin citātiō (“a summons”),[4][6][7] a noun of action formed on the past participle of citō (“to summon, urge; set in motion”), the verb behind cite.[6][2][3] That verb is a frequentative of cieō (“to set in motion, stir, call”), which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *keie- (“to set in motion”).[6] In post-classical Latin the noun meant a legal summons from the 5th century, and a quotation from an author in Erasmus (before 1536);[4] in Anglo-Norman it is recorded from 1346 for a summons to the Court of Rome or another church court.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of summoning someone before a court: c. 1325, in the Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester.[4] Etymonline dates the sense "summons, written notice to appear" to about 1300,[6] and Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

For two centuries the word belonged to the courts, the church courts above all; from 1473, in the Paston Letters, it also named the written summons itself.[4][8] In the 16th century, following the Latin of the humanists, it passed to scholarship: the act of quoting a passage or author as an authority is recorded from 1538 and a quoted passage from 1548,[4] although Etymonline dates the passage sense to the 1540s and the act of quoting to the 1650s.[6] Johnson (1755) gave three senses: calling a person before a judge, quoting another author's words, and the passage quoted.[9] A general sense, "mention, enumeration", is found from 1640, and a reference showing where a quotation or text can be found from 1721.[4] The military sense, a formal mention in a dispatch for brave or outstanding conduct, began in the United States in 1914,[4] or 1918 according to Etymonline;[6] today a citation is also the formal statement that accompanies an award.[10][11]

Timeline

  • c. 1325 – summoning before a court.[4]
  • 1473 – the written summons.[4]
  • 1538 – quoting a text or author as an authority.[4]
  • 1548 – a quoted passage;[4] the 1540s in Etymonline.[6]
  • 1640 – a mention or enumeration.[4]
  • 1650s – the act of quoting, in Etymonline's dating.[6]
  • 1721 – a bibliographical reference.[4]
  • 1914 – (US) a formal mention in a military dispatch;[4] 1918 in Etymonline.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A quotation from, or reference to, a book, author or other source, given as support or evidence.
  2. The act of citing or quoting.
  3. (law) A reference to an earlier court decision or other authority in support of a point of law.
  4. An official commendation for bravery or outstanding service, or the formal statement that describes it: The firefighter received a citation for the rescue.
  5. (law) An official summons to appear in court, or the document that contains it.
  6. A listing or mention, as of facts.

Word family

  • citational
  • noncitation
  • citation form
  • cite
  • recite
  • excite
  • incite

Usage notes

In West Yorkshire dialect a citation was a quantity or a large amount, as in Howitt's Hope On (1840), where strong tea comes with plenty of cream in it.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  12. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)