place

pronunciation

How to pronounce place in British English: UK [pleɪs] word uk audio image

How to pronounce place in American English: US [pleɪs] word us audio image

Noun:

a point located with respect to surface features of some region
any area set aside for a particular purpose
an abstract mental location
a general vicinity
the function or position properly or customarily occupied or served by another
a particular situation
where you live at a particular time
a job in an organization
the particular portion of space occupied by a physical object
proper or designated social situation
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
the passage that is being read
proper or appropriate position or location
a public square with room for pedestrians
an item on a list or in a sequence
a blank area
Verb:

put into a certain place or abstract location
place somebody in a particular situation or location
assign a rank or rating to
assign a location to
to arrange for
take a place in a competition; often followed by an ordinal
intend (something) to move towards a certain goal
recognize as being; establish the identity of someone or something
assign to (a job or a home)
locate
estimate
identify the location or place of
make an investment
assign to a station
finish second or better in a horse or dog race
sing a note with the correct pitch

Word Origin

place: place: [13] A place is etymologically a ‘broad’ area. The word comes ultimately from the Greek expression plateia hodós ‘broad way’ (the adjective platús ‘broad’ is probably related to English flat). Plateia came to be used on its own as a noun, and passed into Latin as platea ‘broad street, open area’. This became changed in postclassical times to *plattja, which passed into English via Old French place.Probably the closest the English word comes to its ancestral meaning is as a street name (as in Portland Place), introduced under French influence in the late 16th century, which originally denoted more an ‘open square’ than a ‘street’. But closer still are piazza [16] and plaza [17], borrowed respectively from the Italian and Spanish versions of the word. The homophonous plaice the fish-name is a distant relative.=> flat, piazza, plaice, plate, platypus, plaza

place (n.): c. 1200, "space, dimensional extent, room, area," from Old French place "place, spot" (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin placea "place, spot," from Latin platea "courtyard, open space; broad way, avenue," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (way)," fem. of platys "broad" (see plaice (n.)). Replaced Old English stow and stede. From mid-13c. as "particular part of space, extent, definite location, spot, site;" from early 14c. as "position or place occupied by custom, etc.; position on some social scale;" from late 14c. as "inhabited place, town, country," also "place on the surface of something, portion of something, part," also, "office, post." Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s. Also from the same Latin source are Italian piazza, Catalan plassa, Spanish plaza, Middle Dutch plaetse, Dutch plaats, German Platz, Danish plads, Norwegian plass. Wide application in English covers meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu, and endroit. Cognate Italian piazza and Spanish plaza retain more of the etymological sense. To take place "happen" is from mid-15c. To know (one's) place is from c. 1600; hence figurative expression put (someone) in his or her place (1855). Place of worship attested from 1689, originally in official papers and in reference to assemblies of dissenters from the Church of England. All over the place "in disorder" is attested from 1923.

place (v.): mid-15c., "to determine the position of;" also "to put (something somewhere)," from place (n.). In the horse racing sense of "to achieve a certain position" (usually in the top three finishers; in U.S., specifically second place) it is first attested 1924, from earlier meaning "to state the position of" (among the first three finishers), 1826. Related: Placed; placing. To take place "to happen, be accomplished" (mid-15c., earlier have place, late 14c.), translates French avoir lieu.

vt.

vt.