place

{{11}}place (n.) c.1200, "space, dimensional extent, room, area," from O.Fr. place and directly from M.L. placea "place, spot," from L. platea "courtyard, open space, broad street," from Gk. plateia (hodos) "broad (way)," fem. of platys "broad," from PIE *plat- "to spread" (Cf. Skt. prathati "spreads out;" Hitt. palhi "broad;" Lith. platus "broad;" Ger. Fladen "flat cake;" O.Ir. lethan "broad"); extended variant form of root *pele- (see PLANE (Cf. plane) (n.¹)).

Replaced O.E. stow and stede. From mid-13c. as "particular part of space, definite location, spot, site;" from early 14c. as "position or place occupied by custom, etc.;" from late 14c. as "inhabited place, town, country," also "place on the surface of something, portion of something, part" and "social position, status;" also, office, post." Wide application in English covers meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu, and endroit. Cognate It. piazza and Sp. plaza retain more of the etymological sense.

Broad sense of "material space, dimension of defined or indefinite extent" is from mid-13c. Sense of "position on some social scale" is from early 14c. Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s. Place-kick is from 1845, originally in rugby. All over the place "in disorder" is attested from 1923.

{{12}}place (v.) mid-15c., "to determine the position of;" also "to put (something somewhere)," from PLACE (Cf. place) (n.). In the horse racing sense of "to achieve a certain position" (usually in the top three finishers; in U.S., specifically second place) it is first attested 1924, from earlier meaning "to state the position of" (among the first three finishers), 1826. Related: Placed; placing. To take place "to happen, be accomplished" (mid-15c., earlier have place, late 14c.), translates Fr. avoir lieu.