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situation

Etymology and origin of the English word situation

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
early 15th century
Borrowed from
Middle French situation via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (situs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌsɪt.juˈeɪ.ʃən/, US /ˌsɪtʃ.uˈeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English situacioun, borrowed from Middle French situation or directly borrowed from Medieval Latin situātiō (“a position”),[2][3][4] from situātus, the past participle of situāre (“to place, locate”),[2][5] the source of situate,[4] from Latin situs (“place, position”),[2] from Proto-Indo-European *tkei- (“to settle, dwell”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Place, position or location: the early 15th century.[2] The OED's first quotation, for the position of a city or country in relation to its surroundings, is from 1490[6] or before 1484 in the Historical Thesaurus.[7]

Semantic evolution

The physical senses came first: the site of a building from 1542,[6][7] a place or locality from 1610,[6] and a person's place of residence from 1615.[6] Then the word moved to people's circumstances: a person's position in life is from 1710,[2][7] and a state of affairs, a set of circumstances, from 1750.[7] In fiction and drama a striking set of circumstances is a situation from 1754.[7][4] A post or job is from 1766 in the Historical Thesaurus[7] or by 1803 in Etymonline,[2] and is now formal.[7] Situation was also an archaic euphemism for pregnancy.[4][7] Since 1954, originally in the United States, it has been a colloquial euphemism for a difficult or troubling state of affairs.[7] Situation comedy gave sitcom.[2]

Timeline

  • early 15th century – place, location.[2]
  • 1490 – the position of a city or country.[6]
  • 1542 – the site of a building.[6]
  • 1710 – a person's position in life.[2][7]
  • 1750 – a state of affairs.[7]
  • 1754 – a striking circumstance in a play.[7]
  • 1766 – a job.[7]
  • 1954 – a troubling state of affairs.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A set of circumstances at a given moment; a state of affairs.
  2. A difficult or critical set of circumstances.
  3. The position of something in relation to its surroundings; a location.
  4. A person's position or status with regard to conditions.
  5. (formal) A job or post: situations vacant.

Word family

  • situational
  • situationally
  • situationism
  • situation room
  • site
  • situate
  • situated
  • sitcom

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 d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Situation.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/situation. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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