placé

Placé is a French term that functions as the past participle of the verb placer (to place, to arrange) and as an adjective meaning placed or located. In common usage, placé describes something that has been set in a particular position or arrangement, as in Le tableau est bien placé près de la fenêtre. It also appears in compound tenses with the auxiliary être or avoir, depending on the construction.

Grammatically, placé agrees in gender and number with the direct object when the auxiliary avoir precedes it (for example: Je les ai placées près de la fenêtre). When used reflexively with se placer, the participle agrees with the subject (Elle s'est placée au centre de la scène). As an adjective, placé can modify nouns directly (un objet placé correctement) and retains the typical gender/number forms: placé, placée, placés, placées.

Etymology and related forms: placé comes from the Old French placer, which in turn derives from Latin placere in senses related to placing or arranging. The root is linked to the broader family of words in French that express placement, arrangement, and setting. A closely related noun is placement, which covers acts of putting something in a position as well as the broader concept of investment or enrollment in certain contexts (un placement financier, meaning a financial investment).

Other uses and notes: placé is widely used in descriptive writing to convey position, order, or arrangement. It also appears in technical or administrative phrasing to indicate that something has been positioned according to a plan. In addition to its verb-derived meaning, placé can function as a surname in French-speaking regions.

Overall, placé is a common, versatile component of French grammar and vocabulary, reflecting the action and result of placing something in a defined location.