English
situate
Situate comes from Late Latin situātus ‘placed, situated, located, having been situated’, from Latin situs ‘a site’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinō1‘to let’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsitus2‘a site’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500situō2‘to locate, place’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsituātus2‘placed, situated, located, having been situated’past participle of situō
- Englishearliest quotation 1667situate2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin situs
- 2 Wiktionary, English situate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, (please specify the page number): “Pleasure situate in hill and dale.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin situs‘to cultivate’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin situsreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin situs‘to put in place’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinōWiktionary, Latin situs‘to let’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsitusWiktionary, English situate‘a site’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500situōWiktionary, English situate‘to locate, place’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEsituātusWiktionary, English situate‘placed, situated, located, having been situated’past participle of situō
- Englishearliest quotation 1667situateWiktionary, English situate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1667, John Milton, (please specify the page number): “Pleasure situate in hill and dale.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’
suppose, homeless, compound, impose, hamlet, bohemian, homely, hame, 49 more
through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti
compost, impost, presupposition, prepositional, 38 more
through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’
post, positive, opposition, opponent, opposite, composition, propose, expose, proposition, dispose, compose, consolation, exposition, deposition, disposition, proponent, imposition, expound, supposition, preposition, positivism, presuppose, suppository, compositor, apposite, 42 more
through Latin sinō ‘to let’
purpose, position, posture, repository, exponent, posit, pone, compostela, 20 more
through Latin situs ‘a site’
Today it means
verb To place on or into a physical location.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “situate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin situs. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- / situate