Where does “cite” come from?
Cite comes from Old French citer, from Latin citare meaning to set in motion, derived from Latin ciere, related to Latin citus meaning quick, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱey-.
cite (English): to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or...
Definitions
- to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or...
Ancestry of “cite”, step by step
cite traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English citation
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | citation | An official summons or notice given to a person... |
| 2 | Old French | citation | — |
| 3 | Latin | citatio | summoning, calling; proclamation; citation |
| 4 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 5 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 6 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 7 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 8 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 9 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 10 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 11 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |