Etymologically
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situation

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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)