placement

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpleɪs.mənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is from the verb place with the suffix -ment,^[2][3][4] compare French placement.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of placing, or the fact of being placed: 1795 in Merriam-Webster, 1835 in Etymonline, 1844 in the OED.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Finding suitable work or accommodation for applicants, and the assignment of students to classes, are later senses;^[6][7] compounds such as placement agency and placement test are recorded from 1959.^[5] In American football a placement is the setting of the ball for a place kick, or the kick itself.^[6]

Timeline

• 1795 – first known use.^[3]
• 1835 – the act of placing.^[2]
• 1959 – placement agency.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of placing or arranging, or the state of being placed; position.
2. The finding of a job or home for someone; a temporary work position.
3. The assignment of students to suitable classes or programmes.

Word family

• outplacement
• preplacement
• product placement
• placement test

Related words

• place
• emplacement
• replacement

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins