place English · revision 1840

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=ine-pro *plat-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pleɪs/^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|place]], [[bor|fro|place|t=place, spot; open space]] and directly from [[la-med|placea|t=place, spot]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from [[la-vul|*plattea]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD) from [[la|platēa|t=courtyard, open space; broad street]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(SOED 2002) from [[grc|πλατεῖα|tr=plateîa|t=broad (way)]] (with [[m|grc|ὁδός|tr=hodós|t=way]] understood), the feminine of [[m|grc|πλατύς|tr=platús|t=broad]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Klein 1966) from [[ine-pro|*plat-|t=to spread]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Old Northumbrian already had [[ang|plæce]], an open place in a city, taken from Latin through the Bible, but Etymonline treats the modern word as a new borrowing,^(Etymonline)^(Chambers 2008) while the American Heritage and Random House dictionaries derive it from both the Old English and the French word.^(AHD)^(RHWU) The same Latin source gave [[it|piazza]] and [[es|plaza]], doublets of ''place'', and [[de|Platz]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) The verb is from the noun.^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Space, room, area (probably before 1200, in ''Ancrene Riwle''; c. 1200 in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Place'' replaced the Old English words ''stōw'' and ''stede'', which survive in place-names such as Padstow and Wanstead.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Weekley 1921) From the mid-13th century it meant a particular spot or site, from the early 14th century a position of rank or precedence, and since the late 14th century an inhabited place, a town or country,^(Etymonline) and in the 14th century also a passage in a book.^(Hoad 1986) A mansion with its grounds was called a ''place'' from the mid-14th century, and a building set apart for some purpose (''place of worship'') from the late 15th century.^(Etymonline) The sense of a job or appointment is by the 1550s.^(Etymonline) As the name of a square or a short street (''Park Place'') it dates from 1585 in the OED, the 1690s in Etymonline, after a French use.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''To take place'' replaced earlier ''have place'', translating [[fr|avoir lieu]].^(Weekley 1921) The verb, first recorded in 1442, meant “to put in a position”;^(Barnhart 1995)^(HTOED) “to find a home or job for” is from the 1590s,^(Etymonline) and the racing sense, to finish among the first three (in the United States, second), is attested by 1924.^(Etymonline) ''A place in the sun'' became associated with German nationalism after a Reichstag speech by von Bülow in 1897, though Pascal had used the idea in the 17th century.^(Cresswell 2021) In South Africa ''place'' once meant a farm, a calque of [[nl|plaats]].^(DSAE)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – space, room.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – a particular spot or site.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – rank, position.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – a mansion with its grounds.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – a town; a passage in a book.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1442 – verb, to put in a place.^(Barnhart 1995)^(HTOED)

+ * 1550s – a job or appointment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1585 – a short street or square.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590s – verb, to find a home or job for.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1868 – ''place name''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1924 – verb, to finish second or among the first three in a race.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A particular position or area in space; a [[location]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A town, district or country.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A building or area used for a purpose: ''a place of worship''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' A house or home: ''come round to my place''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A space or seat for a person: ''lay a place at the table''; a vacancy: ''a place at university''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # The proper or usual position of something: ''in place''.^(COED 2004)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Position in a sequence or ranking, as in a race; one's social rank.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A job or position, and its duties.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # A point reached in a book: ''lost my place''.^(COED 2004)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(often capitalized)'' A short street or square: ''Grosvenor Place''.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put in a particular position; to set.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To find a home or job for.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To identify by context; to recall: ''couldn't place her face''.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To rank or estimate: ''placed the value too high''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To give an order or bet: ''place an order''.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(racing)'' To finish among the leaders, in the US specifically second.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[placeable]]

+ * [[placer]]

+ * [[placeless]]

+ * [[placelessly]]

+ * [[placement]]

+ * [[well-placed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[plaza]]

+ * [[piazza]]

+ * [[plaice]]

+ * [[plate]]

+ * [[flat]]

+ * [[plane]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}