postpone

Where does the word "postpone" come from? It comes from Latin post ponere, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Postpone’s story begins in Latin: post ponere meant “to put after.” To put after, from post- (after) and ponere (to place). It reached English by 1500s as postpone. Settled as the English word for delaying something to a later time. Today, postpone means to delay or reschedule an event to a later time.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient post ponere "to put after", to put after, from post- (after) and ponere (to place).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s postpone "to delay something to a later time", settled as the English word for delaying something to a later time.