Cited

How to spell cited

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce cited

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does cited mean?

1. verbQuoted or referred to a source, authority, or example as evidence or justification, or formally summoned or commended.

Cited in a sentence

• The researcher cited three earlier studies to support her argument.

• The report cited rising costs as the main reason for the delay.

Where does cited come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past tense of the verb 'cite', which English took from the Latin citare, meaning 'to summon, call forth, or set in motion'. That verb was itself a frequentative of ciere, 'to move or stir up', so the underlying image is of calling something into action or bringing it forward. English borrowed it through Old French in the late 1400s, originally in the legal sense of summoning a person to appear before a court. From there the meaning broadened to 'quoting an authority' and 'referring to a source', and later to formally commending someone, as in a soldier being mentioned in dispatches. The spelling trap is purely aural: 'cited' sounds identical to 'sighted' (having seen) and 'sited' (placed in a location), yet only this form carries the sense of quoting or summoning.

How the word is built

• cite (from Latin citare: to summon, call)
• -ed (past tense suffix)

Words that sound like cited

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• sighted: Having the ability to see; not blind.