Etymologically
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Sitz

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Pronunciation

  • /zɪt͡s/[1]
  • Austria: /sɪt͡s/[1]

Forms

Sitz m (genitive Sitzes, plural Sitze)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German siz, a noun formed from sitzen.[2][3] The Duden dictionaries trace it further back to Old High German siz, but the Grimms' dictionary says the word first appears in Middle High German, the Old High German record being a misreading.[4][5] It was at first only High German: Middle Low German sit and Dutch zit were borrowed from it.[3][5]

The verb is Old High German sizzen, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną, also in Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (sitan), Old Norse sitja and Old English sittan, whence English sit.[2][3] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”), the root of Latin sedeō (“to sit”), Ancient Greek ἕζομαι (hézomai, “to sit”), Sanskrit सीदति (sī́dati, “sits”), Lithuanian sėdėti (“to sit”) and Russian сидеть (sidétʹ, “to sit”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grimms' dictionary quotes Middle High German siz from the Jüngerer Titurel for the manner of sitting, and Dasypodius' dictionary glosses Latin sessio with it.[5]

Semantic evolution

Early uses describe a state rather than a place: in Swiss German a Siz was a sitting together for company, and auf einen Sitz or in einem Sitz came to mean “at one go”, as when a soldier in Grimmelshausen loses 20,000 ducats auf einen Sitz.[5] Adelung records the phrase Sitz und Stimme haben “to have a seat and a vote” in a council, and the senses “seat, chair” and “place of residence”.[6] Newer is the use for the way clothes fit.[5] Today it also names a seat in parliament and the place where an institution or company has its headquarters.[4][1]

English took over Sitzkrieg “phoney war” in 1940 and the theological term Sitz im Leben in 1934.[7]

Timeline

  • Middle High German – siz is recorded.[5]
  • 1639 – Zinkgref uses zu einem Sitz “at one go”.[5]
  • 1934 – English borrows Sitz im Leben.[7]
  • 1940 – English borrows Sitzkrieg.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A seat, something to sit on: Die hinteren Sitze lassen sich umklappen.[4][1]
  2. A seat with a vote, especially in parliament: Die Partei gewann zwölf Sitze.;[4] Sitz und Stimme haben.[4]
  3. The place where an institution or company is based; headquarters: Die Firma hat ihren Sitz in Hamburg.[4][1]
  4. The way one sits, posture: Die Reiterin hat einen sicheren Sitz.;[4] auf einen Sitz (colloquial) “at one go”.[4]
  5. The way a garment fits: der gute Sitz eines Mantels.[4]

Word family

  • Vorsitz
  • Wohnsitz
  • Rücksitz
  • Sitzplatz

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 852
  3. ^ a b c d Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 16, 1276
  6. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 4, 113
  7. ^ a b c Lehnwortportal Deutsch (2012–), Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim, lwp.ids-mannheim.de