sittan

Forms

sittan (strong class 5; third-person singular present sitt, past singular sæt, past plural sǣton)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (“to sit”), from Proto-Indo-European *sédyeti, a present of the root Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).^[1][2] The Proto-Germanic verb survives as Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (sitan), Old Norse sitja, Old Frisian sitta, Old Saxon sittian and Old High German sizzen;^[2][3][4] Seebold notes that the Gothic verb has no j-present, which was probably given up later.^[2][3][4] Outside Germanic the root is seen in Latin sedeō, Ancient Greek ἕζομαι (hézomai), from *sedyomai, Sanskrit सीदति (sīdati) and Old Church Slavonic сѣдѣти (sěděti).^[5][3][1]

The double ⟨tt⟩ comes from West Germanic gemination before /j/, which Ringe and Taylor show in this verb and in *satjaną, Proto-West Germanic *sattjan, the source of settan.^[6] Hogg names the verb as a “weak present” of a strong verb that shows the same gemination as the weak verbs of class 1.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first dated record is the mid-ninth-century gloss of the Vespasian Psalter, Psalm 100:6: Egan min ofer ða getreowan eordan ðæt hie sitten ðas mid mec “my eyes are on the faithful of the land, that they may sit with me”, over Latin “ut sedeant hii mecum”.^[8][9] In the Pastoral Care (890×897) judges and powerful men sit on setelum, on seats.^[10][9]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller's first sense is bodily sitting, on a throne, at a feast or at someone's feet, with on cnēowum sittan for kneeling and the use of a bird at rest; the Supplement adds sitting on a horse, riding.^[11][12] From sitting it passes to staying and dwelling: the Goths sǣton þǣr on lande “settled in the land” in the Orosius, and an army that sits round a town besieges it.^[11][12] Things can sit on a person too, a famine on a land or guilt on a man: sitte sio scyld on him “let the guilt rest on him” in Alfred's laws.^[12][13] Holthausen and Köbler add presiding over an assembly.^[5][2] It glosses Latin “sedere”, “residere” and “discumbere”.^[2]

It continued as Middle English sitten, now English sit.^[14][15]

Timeline

• s. ix med. – ðæt hie sitten ðas mid mec in the Vespasian Psalter gloss.^[8][9]
• 890×897 – judges who on setelum sitten in the Pastoral Care.^[10][9]
• s. x² – stille on wīcum sittað “sit quiet in their dwellings” in Riddle 8 of the Exeter Book.^[16][1]
• s. x/xi – weard on wicge sæt “the watchman sat on his horse” in Beowulf.^[17][11]

Meanings

Verb

1. to sit, be seated; to sit down.^[11][18]
2. to sit on a horse, ride.^[12]
3. of a bird: to perch, rest;^[11][19] on cnēowum sittan to kneel.^[11][19]
4. to stay, remain, dwell, settle.^[11][19][1]
5. to encamp; to besiege a town.^[12][5]
6. to preside.^[5][2]
7. of a burden, famine or guilt: to lie upon, weigh on.^[12][13]

Word family

• āsittan
• besittan
• forsittan
• ġesittan
• ofersittan
• onsittan
• ymbsittan

Descendants

• Middle English sitten (→ English sit; Scots sit)^[1]

Related words

• settan
• setl
• sess

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. sittan
3. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 477
4. ^ a b Seebold, Elmar (1970), Vergleichendes und etymologisches Wörterbuch der germanischen starken Verben, The Hague / Paris: Mouton
5. ^ a b c d Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 296
6. ^ Ringe, Don; Taylor, Ann (2014), The Development of Old English, A Linguistic History of English II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 51
7. ^ Hogg, Richard M. (1992), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 1: Phonology, Oxford: Blackwell, p. § 4.11
8. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 329
9. ^ a b c d Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
10. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
11. ^ a b c d e f g Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 879
12. ^ a b c d e f Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 704
13. ^ a b Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 198
14. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
15. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
16. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 223
17. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344
18. ^ Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. sittan
19. ^ a b c Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 176