Etymology: In Old English < post-classical Latin platea (see below); subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French place (c1100 in Old French; also in Anglo-Norman as plas, in Old French as plache (northern) and plasce, and in Middle French as plasse; French place ) space, locality (c1100), room, available space (c1100), town square (c1200; rare before 15th cent.), battlefield (second half of the 12th cent.; now obsolete in this sense), plot of land (1231 in place de la maison ; now obsolete in this sense), position, employment, office (end of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; apparently not paralleled in continental French until later (late 14th cent. in sense ‘job, occupation’, c1485 in sense ‘rank, social status’), but the precise sense is often difficult to determine in early quotations), residence, house, estate, manor (late 14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), fortress, fortified city (1417, earliest in place forte ; now rare or historical), in Anglo-Norman also square of a chessboard (beginning of the 14th cent. or earlier) < classical Latin platea street, in post-classical Latin (also as placea , placia ) also square, public square, marketplace (Vulgate), location, locality (4th cent.), open space, site, plot (frequently c1080–1512 in British sources), fortified place (1250, 1311, 1409 in British sources), residence, building (1373, 1440 in British sources) < ancient Greek πλατεῖα street, use as noun (short for πλατεῖα ὁδός ) of feminine of πλατύς broad (see plat adj. and adv.). Compare Old Occitan, Occitan plaça (c1150 in sense ‘town square’), Catalan plaça (1250 in sense ‘town square’), Spanish plaza palace square (c1172 or earlier), town square (1196 or earlier as †plaça ), space (a1207 or earlier as †plaça ), Portuguese praça (13th cent.; also as †plaça (15th cent.)), Italian piazza (13th cent.), all earliest in sense ‘square’. Compare also the following loans in other Germanic languages, many of which show a semantic spectrum comparable to those of the English and French words: Middle Dutch plaetse (Dutch plaats ), Middle Low German plas (also plāz , plāze ), Middle High German platz , plaz (German Platz ), Old Icelandic pláz (in late sources; Icelandic pláss ), Old Swedish platz (Swedish plats ), early modern Danish plads , pladtz , platz (Danish plads ), and (with unexplained medial -p- ) Gothic plapja . Irish plás place, (market) square, Welsh plas mansion, palace (1346; compare sense 9a), also place, (market) square (13th cent.) are probably from Old French or perhaps from Middle English. The word superseded Old English stow stow n.¹ (see especially sense 5a) and (largely) stede stead n.In sense 7b after corresponding use of classical Latin locus; compare commonplace n.² With to make place at Phrases 1c compare Old French, Middle French, French faire place à to make room for (a person) (c1260). With to hold place at Phrases 1f compare Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French tenir place to stand one's ground (second half of the 12th cent.). With in place at Phrases 2a compare Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French en place present, here and now, on the spot, en la place there, at once (both second half of the 12th cent.). With upon the place at Phrases 2d compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French sur la place on the spot (late 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman; French sur place ). In place of arms n. a at Phrases 3b after French place d'armes place d'armes n. With place-book n. at Compounds 2 compare earlier commonplace book n., commonplace n.² 2b. In placewoman n. at Compounds 2 after placeman n.