site

Forms

site m (plural sites)^[1] Middle French sit in the 16th century; the spelling site is general from 1708.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman scite, sist, syte.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin situs (“position, situation”), first recorded in the sense of a place or location in 1304–1305.^[2][3][5][6] The sense of the look of a place, considered for its beauty, is probably, from the 16th century, borrowed from Italian sito (“situation, place”), itself from the Latin word; in 1708 Roger de Piles wrote that painters had brought the word over from Italian.^[2][3][7] Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1576 and treat it simply as an art term from Italian.^[8] The Latin noun is the action noun of sinō (“to place, to let”), a verb of unknown origin.^[3]

The sense of a website is a semantic loan from site.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a law report of 1304–1305 it means a place or location; the word is then only sporadically found, as cite in 1347 and sit in 1512.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Italian sense of the general lie of a landscape, seen for its picturesque effect, was used by Montaigne in 1580–1581, when he contemplated the sit of the parts of Rome from the Janiculum.^[2][3] From the 17th century the word also meant the lie of the ground on which a town or a fortress stands, as men use it.^[3]

In the 19th century fortification had plan de site, and in the 20th century topography and artillery adopted angle de site and ligne de site.^[3][9] The aesthetic sense was revived in the administrative phrases protection des sites and site classé, archaeology uses it for any place of excavation, and site propre (1965) is a lane reserved for public transport.^[3] After American English, it then came to name a website.^[3][1]

Timeline

• 1304–1305 – First recorded, meaning a place or location.^[2]
• 1530 – Sit means the lie of a place, in Claude de Seyssel.^[2]
• 1580–1581 – Montaigne uses sit of the picturesque view of Rome.^[2][3]
• 1660 – Site d'une place de guerre in d'Aubigné.^[3]
• 1708 – Roger de Piles uses the spelling site and calls it an Italian word.^[2]
• 1923 – First use in topography.^[3][5]
• 1965 – Site propre “reserved lane” appears.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A landscape or place seen for its beauty or picturesque character: un site classé.^[10][11][2]
2. The lie of the ground where a town stands, as it serves human use, or the layout of a place in relation to its purpose.^[10][11]
3. A place where an activity is carried on, as an industrial plant or an archaeological dig: site archéologique.^[12][11][3]
4. (topography, artillery) The angle between the line of sight to a point and the horizontal: angle de site.^[3][5]
5. (genetics) The smallest unit of a gene capable of mutation or recombination.^[11]
6. (computing) A website: un site Internet.^[12][11][1]

Related words

• situer
• situation
• Latin situs

Usage notes

Old texts also have a feminine site meaning “rank”, which Littré takes to be a form of suite; the TLFi records it in Guiart in 1306.^[9][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 668a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)