Etymologically
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Sitzung

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Forms

Sitzung f (genitive Sitzung, plural Sitzungen)[1]

Etymology

It is from German sitzen + -ung, recorded from the 15th century, at first in the sense “sitting down”.[2][3][1] It is formed like English sitting.[1]

The verb sitzen is Old High German sizzen, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (“to sit”), with a j-present also seen in Old Norse sitja and Old English sittan, while Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (sitan) probably lost it.[4][2][5] It goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”), the root of Latin sedeō, Ancient Greek ἕζομαι (hézomai), Lithuanian sėdėti and Old Church Slavonic сѣдѣти (sěděti).[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fifteenth-century glossaries give sitzung for Latin discubitus “reclining at table” and siczunge for sessio, and Middle Low German had sittinge.[6]

Semantic evolution

Adelung explains Sitzung as a German word for the Latin-derived Session, a meeting of a court or council, so called because its members sit.[7] Campe wanted to follow French usage and reserve Sitzung for the whole period during which a body deliberates, with Tagsitzung for a single meeting, but the distinction did not take hold.[6] Schiller and Kleist use it of councils and courts, and it was also used jokingly of a long drinking session.[6] In 1787 Heinse uses it for the sitting of a model for a portrait.[6] Hebrew and Hungarian copied its meaning in words of their own.[1]

Timeline

  • 15th century – Sitzung is first recorded, meaning “sitting down”.[2][3]
  • 1787 – Heinse's Ardinghello uses the word for a portrait sitting.[6]
  • 1793 – Adelung defines it as the meeting of a court or council.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A meeting of a council, committee or other body at which matters are discussed and decided: Der Gemeinderat tagt heute in öffentlicher Sitzung.[3][1]
  2. Short for Karnevalssitzung, a carnival evening with speeches and songs.[3]
  3. (colloquial, joking) A long stay on the toilet.[3][8]
  4. A sitting for a portrait.[3][6]
  5. A session of dental, psychotherapeutic or similar treatment.[3][8]
  6. A regular meeting of a group, such as a class or seminar.[3][8]
  7. (law) The oral hearing of a court.[8]
  8. (computing) A session, the connection of a client with a server.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  4. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 852
  5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  6. ^ a b c d e f Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 16, 1304
  7. ^ a b Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 4, 116
  8. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org