cite

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English citen (“to summon”),^[2][3] partly borrowed from Middle French citer (“to summon to a court”) and partly from its source, Latin citō (“to move, excite, summon; to quote”).^[4][2][5][6] In Anglo-Norman citer is recorded from 1375–84, for a summons by church authority.^[7] The Latin verb is the frequentative of cieō (“to set in motion, call”),^{[4][5][8][9][3]} and Merriam-Webster and Ayto derive it from the past participle citus.^[10][11] It goes back to the same Indo-European base as Ancient Greek κινέω (kinéō, “to set in motion”),^{[4][8][11][3]} and Etymonline and the American Heritage Dictionary trace it to Proto-Indo-European *keie- (“to set in motion”).^[5][12] In Late Latin the verb was used of a summons before a church court.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

To summon someone formally to appear in a court: 1438, in the Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council, “Cityng him to appere at the saide courte”.^[4][2][3] The Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford note that the court was originally a church court.^[6][9]

Semantic evolution

The sense of calling forth a passage or author as an authority appeared in the 1530s: 1531 in the OED, 1535 in Barnhart.^[4][3][5] Ayto explains it as a figurative “calling forth” of a passage as proof of what one says.^[11] The OED notes that this sense, and the sense to mention, are found in English before they are in French.^[4] From 1550 the verb was used of adducing any example or proof, and of giving an exact reference to a text from 1699.^[4] The sense to call forth or arouse, as an emotion, was used from about 1533 to 1858.^[4][10] In 1916, first in American military use, it came to mean to mention a soldier in a dispatch for bravery, after the French citer in that sense.^[4] The noun cite, a citation, is recorded from 1941.^[4] Johnson (1755) gave as the first sense to summon to answer in a court.^[14]

Timeline

• 1438 – to summon to appear in court.^[4][2][3]
• 1531 – to quote or refer to as an authority (1535 in Barnhart).^[4][3]
• c. 1533 – to call forth, arouse (obsolete by 1858).^[4]
• 1549 – to mention, bring forward for consideration.^[4]
• 1550 – to adduce as an example or proof.^[4]
• 1699 – to give a bibliographic reference.^[4]
• 1916 – to mention a soldier for bravery.^[4]
• 1941 – noun, a citation.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To quote or refer to a passage, book or author as an authority or in support of an argument.^[15][10][4]
2. To mention something as an example or proof: She cited the delays as the reason for leaving.^[15][4]
3. To give an exact reference to a source.^[4]
4. To summon someone to appear before a court.^[15][10][4]
5. To mention a soldier or unit officially for bravery or merit.^[15][4]
6. To list or enumerate.^[15]
7. (archaic) To call forth; to rouse or excite.^[10][9][4]

Noun

1. (informal) A citation.^[4]

Word family

• citable
• citer
• miscite

Related words

• citation
• excite
• incite
• solicit
• kinetic

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
13. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
15. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins