Where does “townsite” come from?

townsite (English) comes from English town, from Middle English toun, from Middle English ende, from Old English ende, from Proto-Germanic andi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énti, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- — on, onto.

townsite (English): In former British colonies, a tract of land...

Definitions

  1. In former British colonies, a tract of land...

Ancestry of “townsite”, step by step

townsite traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English town

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtownA settlement; an area with residential districts,...
2Middle Englishtountown
3Middle EnglishendeThe end or finishing of a thing; the terminal...
4Old Englishendeend, limit, border, corner
5Proto-Germanicandiin addition, furthermore, and
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via English site

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsiteSorrow, grief; The place where anything is fixed;...
2Middle Englishsitesorrow, grief
3Anglo-Normansitesite; location
4Latinsituspermitted, allowed, suffered, having been...
5Latin-tusForms the past participle of verbs; Forms...
6Proto-Italic-tus
7Proto-Indo-European-tusDerives action nouns from verb roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts