COMMONLY CONFUSED: Cite, Site, & Sight
Make sure you know the difference
Saturdays are perfect days to clarify communication confusion. Surprise, we’re talking about the differences between the words cite, site, and sight today!
The English language can be tough to deal with, considering how many common words sound similar to each other. If homophone pairs don’t present enough trouble, one particular trio of terms causes consternation even to native speakers. How comfortable are you differentiating the triple threat of cite, site, and sight?
The word cite derives from the root CIT- meaning to call or set in motion in words like excite, incite, and recital:
cite (verb) - to reference or quote a source; to honor or commend; to issue an official summons or charge
—citation is a reference or quotation, generally in the context of a scholarly work; an official commendation; a legal summons
The word site, on the other hand, comes from a completely different root: SIT- means place or position in words like offsite, situate, and website.
site (noun) - a physical or virtual location, often referring to a place where something will be built
—site means to place or position somewhere
—in situ is a Latin phrase meaning in place, commonly used in academic, scientific, and medical contexts
The most commonly used version of the sight/site/cite triad is based not on Latin but rather a Proto-West Germanic root SIGHT- meaning vision or appearance. This root also forms the German sicht and Dutch zicht, both meaning view:
sight (noun) - a spectacle; anything that can be seen; the ability to see or act of vision; an assistive device that improves the ability to see or aim
—sight as a verb means to see or spot something; to take aim through a scope
—sighted means endowed with the ability to see clearly
—sightless means blind
Play close attention to context–and even closer attention to your spell check–when dealing with cite, site, and sight, no matter how casual the setting.
“You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge hammer on the construction site.” –Frank Lloyd Wright
What stands out to me is the Latin/Germanic split — 'cite' and 'site' both trace back to Latin roots, but 'sight' went through Proto-West Germanic instead. That's probably why sight feels more 'natural' in English — it's been here longer, while cite and site came in later through French and Latin scholarly traditions. The CIT- connection to 'excite' and 'incite' is really useful too — they all share that sense of 'calling something into action.' Makes the citation connection click: you're calling someone's work into the conversation.
Stellar breakdown of these homophones. The connection between cite and commend is particularly intresting because most people only think of citations as academic references, missing that core meaning of giving recognition. I've noticed students struggle with this in their writing all the time, where they cite sources mechanically but dont understand the act of citing is fundamentally about honoring someone else's contribution to knowledge.