Etymograph

English

situs

Situs comes from Latin situs ‘position, site’, from sinō ‘to let’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-1‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinéti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinō1‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinō1‘to let’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsitus2‘position, site’
  6. Englishtodaysitus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin situs
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English situs

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱey-Wiktionary, Latin situs‘to cultivate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tḱinétiWiktionary, Latin situsreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sinōWiktionary, Latin situs‘to put in place’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsinōWiktionary, Latin situs‘to let’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsitusWiktionary, English situs‘position, site’
  6. EnglishtodaysitusWiktionary, English situs

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱey- ‘to cultivate’

suppose, homeless, compound, impose, hamlet, bohemian, homely, hame, 48 more

through Proto-Indo-European *tḱinéti

compost, impost, presupposition, prepositional, 37 more

through Proto-Italic *sinō ‘to put in place’

post, positive, opposition, opponent, opposite, propose, composition, expose, consolation, dispose, proposition, compose, exposition, proponent, deposition, disposition, imposition, expound, supposition, preposition, presuppose, positivism, suppository, compositor, apposite, 41 more

through Latin sinō ‘to let’

purpose, position, posture, repository, exponent, compostela, pone, posit, 19 more

through Latin situs ‘position, site’

site, situation, situate, 1 more

Today it means

noun The position, especially the usual, normal position, of a body part or part of a plant.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “situs”; 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- / situs

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