Etymology

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Today it means: Something used or included temporarily or as a substitute for something that is not known or must remain generic; that which holds, denotes or reserves a place for something to come later. Full definition →

English holder ← Middle English holden ← Old English healdan
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The story

  1. Englishplace
  2. Proto-Germanic*haldaną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*haldan
  4. Old Englishhealdan
  5. Middle Englishholden
  6. Englishhold
  7. Englishholder
  8. English todayplaceholder

From place + holder.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.