site English · revision 2540

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1380 (Chaucer)|origins=la sinere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /saɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|site]], [[bor|xno|site|t=place, site, position]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and directly from [[la|situs|t=place, position, situation]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from the past participle of [[m|la|sinere|t=to let, leave, permit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) which Barnhart calls of unknown origin.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*tkei-|t=to settle, dwell]],^(Etymonline) and Merriam-Webster relates ''sinere'' to Latin [[m|la|serere|t=to sow, plant]].^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[situate]] and [[situation]].^(Klein 1966)^(AHD 2000)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The position or location of a building, the situation of a place: about 1380, in Chaucer's ''House of Fame'' and ''Boethius'',^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1391 for the place occupied by something.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Hoad dates “ground on which a building is set up” to the 15th century, and “situation of a place” to the 16th.^(Hoad 1986) The ground on which a town or building stands, or is to stand, is recorded from 1461,^(OED 1989) and the position of a town with regard to its surroundings from 1579.^(OED 1989) The seat of an industry or the scene of some condition is from 1637.^(OED 1989) In archaeology a ''site'' is a place with remains of former habitation, from 1911,^(OED 1989) and in science a position where something happens, from 1950.^(OED 1989) The verb “to locate, place” is from 1598,^(OED 1989) and ''sited'', “situated”, from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) A ''site'' on the Internet is short for [[website]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1380 – the position of a building (Chaucer).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1461 – the ground on which a building stands.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-15th century – ''sited''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1579 – the situation of a town.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1598 – verb, to place.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1911 – an archaeological site.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1950 – a site in science.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The place where a building or group of buildings was, is or will be.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The place or setting of something: ''a historic site''.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A [[website]].^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place or locate on a site.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[in situ]]

+ * [[situate]]

+ * [[situation]]

+ * [[situs]]

+ * [[website]]

+ * [[campsite]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate Middle English ''site'', “sorrow, grief”, from Old Norse, was common in northern texts from about 1200;^(OED 1989) the English Dialect Dictionary records it in Scots as ''syte'', “anxious care”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}