Site and Sight Are Not the Same Word
A site is a location. It is unrelated to sight, despite the constant confusion.
A site is a place where something is located or happens. It comes from Latin *situs*, a position, from *sinere*, to allow to rest — and it has nothing to do with *sight*, which is Old English and means the act of seeing. A third word, *cite*, comes from Latin *citare*, to summon. All three sound identical and mean quite different things. The web sense arrived in the 1990s from the idea of a location in a network.
- A location. *A building site.*
- A web page. *A website.*
- To place. *Sited on the hill.*
- Sight — a different word. *Sight.*
- Latin — *situs*, a position. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | site | A site. |
| Plural | sites | Sites. |
| Verb | site | Sited. |
| Related | situate | To situate. |
| Latin | situs | A position. |
- The building site was closed.Location.
- Visit our site.Web.
- Site is not sight.Distinction.
Site, sight and cite
- Site — a place, from Latin *situs*
- Sight — vision, from Old English *sihth*
- Cite — to quote, from Latin *citare*, to summon
- All three are pronounced identically
- None of them is related to the others
Latin *situs*, a position or site, from *sinere*, to leave or allow to rest.
Is site related to sight?
No. Site is Latin for a position; sight is Old English for the act of seeing. They are homophones only.
Where does cite come from?
From Latin citare, to summon, which is why you cite a source as though calling it to appear.