Cites

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /saɪts/

Definitions

1. Refers to quoting or repeating words from a text or speech as proof or support ; mentions or identifies someone as the source of information or ideas
2. Involves repeating a passage or statement from a document to support a point ; acknowledges an author or work as a reference in scholarly or formal writing
3. Indicates the act of using someone else's words to reinforce an argument ; points out the origin of facts or opinions by naming the original author or document

Etymology: The verb "cites" is simply the third-person singular form of "cite," so the real story belongs to "cite" itself. Its ancestor is the Latin "citare," meaning "to cause to move, excite, summon," a frequentative of "ciēre," "to rouse or call." The sense of summoning or calling forth is the original one, and it survives in the idea of calling someone to appear before a court or authority. Passing through Old French as "citer," the word carried that summoning sense into English. The modern sense of naming a source is the surprising turn. English speakers did not invent it from the Latin root alone; the word was shortened from "citation," which itself comes from the same Latin family, so "cite" is a clipped form of a noun. The process resembles how "quote" was clipped from "quotation." In other words, the everyday meaning of pointing to a source was produced by trimming a longer word rather than by a gradual shift in the verb's sense.

Synonyms: quotes, references, mentions