place: [13] A place is etymologically a ‘broad’ area. The word comes ultimately from the Greek expression plateia hodós ‘broad way’ (the adjective platús ‘broad’ is probably related to English flat). Plateia came to be used on its own as a noun, and passed into Latin as platea ‘broad street, open area’. This became changed in postclassical times to *plattja, which passed into English via Old French place.
Probably the closest the English word comes to its ancestral meaning is as a street name (as in Portland Place), introduced under French influence in the late 16th century, which originally denoted more an ‘open square’ than a ‘street’. But closer still are piazza [16] and plaza [17], borrowed respectively from the Italian and Spanish versions of the word. The homophonous plaice the fish-name is a distant relative. => flat, piazza, plaice, plate, platypus, plaza
place (n.)
c. 1200, "space, dimensional extent, room, area," from Old French place "place, spot" (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin placea "place, spot," from Latin platea "courtyard, open space; broad way, avenue," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (way)," fem. of platys "broad" (see plaice (n.)).
Replaced Old English stow and stede. From mid-13c. as "particular part of space, extent, definite location, spot, site;" from early 14c. as "position or place occupied by custom, etc.; position on some social scale;" from late 14c. as "inhabited place, town, country," also "place on the surface of something, portion of something, part," also, "office, post." Meaning "group of houses in a town" is from 1580s.
Also from the same Latin source are Italian piazza, Catalan plassa, Spanish plaza, Middle Dutch plaetse, Dutch plaats, German Platz, Danish plads, Norwegian plass. Wide application in English covers meanings that in French require three words: place, lieu, and endroit. Cognate Italian piazza and Spanish plaza retain more of the etymological sense.
To take place "happen" is from mid-15c. To know (one's) place is from c. 1600; hence figurative expression put (someone) in his or her place (1855). Place of worship attested from 1689, originally in official papers and in reference to assemblies of dissenters from the Church of England. All over the place "in disorder" is attested from 1923.
place (v.)
mid-15c., "to determine the position of;" also "to put (something somewhere)," from 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 French avoir lieu.
双语例句
1. The United States plans to tighten the economic sanctions currently in place.
美国计划加大现有经济制裁的力度。
来自柯林斯例句
2. He kept encouraging Rosie to find a place of her own.
他不断鼓励罗茜为自己找个住处。
来自柯林斯例句
3. Did she usurp his place in his mother's heart?
她取代了他在他母亲心目中的地位吗？
来自柯林斯例句
4. Place the omelette under a gentle grill until the top is set.
将煎蛋饼放在烤架下用文火烘烤，直到表面凝固。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The mother provides the embryo with nourishment and a place to grow.
