Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “placeholder” come from?

Placeholder derives from English place and English hold, ultimately tracing through Latin platea, Latin -are, and Latin -arius to the Proto-Indo-European root pelh₂-.

placeholder (English): Something used or included temporarily or as a...

Definitions

  1. Something used or included temporarily or as a...

Ancestry of “placeholder”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishHölder—
2English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
3Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
4Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
5Latin-āre—
6Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she
Every word from Chichewa iye →