session

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈseʃ.ᵊn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sessioun,^[2] borrowed from Old French session (“act or state of sitting; assembly”) or directly from Latin sessiō (“act of sitting; a seat; a session”) (accusative sessiōnem),^[2][3][4] a noun of action from the past participle of sedēre (“to sit”),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).^[2] It is related to sit, seat, sessile and sediment.^[5][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A periodical sitting of a court: the late 14th century in Etymonline,^[2] and in Hoad the 14th century, as a sitting together for conference, especially a judicial sitting.^[3] The OED's first example of the sitting of a court or council is from 1444.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The time or term during which a legislature meets daily for business is from the 1550s,^[2] or 1553 in the OED.^[7] The literal classical sense, the act of sitting, is rare in English^[2] except in theology, of Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, from the early 15th century^[2] or about 1557 in the OED.^[7] The more general “period set aside for an activity” is from 1920, in bull session, probably extended from quarter sessions courts.^[2] A recording session in a studio is from 1927.^[2] In Scotland the session or kirk session is the governing body of elders of a parish.^[8]

Timeline

• late 14th century – a sitting of a court.^[2]
• 1444 – a sitting of a council.^[7]
• 1553 – a series of sittings.^[7]
• c. 1557 – Christ's sitting at God's right hand.^[7]
• 1920 – bull session.^[2]
• 1927 – a recording session.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A meeting, or series of meetings, of a legislature, court or council.
2. The term during which such meetings are held.
3. The part of a year or day when a school holds classes.
4. A period devoted to an activity: a recording session.
5. In Presbyterian churches, the governing body of a congregation.

Word family

• sessional
• sessionally
• intersession
• presession
• special session
• poster session
• skull session
• petty sessions

Related words

• sit
• seat
• sessile
• sediment
• assess
• obsess
• possess

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)