sella

Forms

sella f (plural selle)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sella (“seat, chair; saddle”), from Proto-Italic *sedlā, a derivative of the root of sedeō (“to sit”) (see sedere).^{[2][3][1][4][5]} DEI compares German Sessel, and Devoto and Wiktionary the Laconian form Ancient Greek ἕλλα (héllā, “seat”).^[6][7][1] The root is Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).^[1][4]

The word is found in all the Romance languages and Italian dialects: French selle, Occitan sella, Catalan sella, Spanish silla “chair” and “saddle”, Portuguese sela, Sardinian seḍḍa and Romanian șea.^[3][6][8] Meyer-Lübke notes that in the sense “chair” it gave way to the descendants of cathedra in parts of France and Spain, and to sedia in Italy.^[8] In central Italy the word competes with bardella.^[6]

From the derivative sellarius comes sellaio.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Zingarelli dates the word to 1282, and DELI's first record is in the Novellino at the end of the 13th century, in the sense of the leather seat put on a horse's back for riding.^[9][2][10] The past participle sellato “saddled” is in the Novellino too.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the word could also mean a seat or throne, as in Dante's question about Justinian's reins se la sella è vota (“if the saddle is empty”), and the seat of a privy.^[10][6][11] Boccaccio has a horse found con tutta la sella, and Sacchetti an ass with a cymbal hung from its saddle.^[12]

A mountain pass between two valleys is first recorded in 1871, in Pirona's Friulian dictionary, translating Friulian forcèle.^[2] A cut of veal or lamb from the loin is in Tommaseo (1873).^[2] The seat of a bicycle or motorcycle is first recorded in 1942, in Stuparich.^[2] The figurative phrases restare in sella, to keep one's position, and levare di sella, to oust someone, show the saddle as a seat of power.^[13][14]

Timeline

• 1282 – Zingarelli's date for the first record.^[9]
• End of the 13th century – The Novellino uses sella and sellato.^[2]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses sellaio, saddler.^[2]
• 14th century – Sense “seat, throne”.^[6]
• 1871 – Sense “mountain pass”, in Pirona's Friulian dictionary.^[2]
• 1873 – Sense “loin cut of meat”, in Tommaseo.^[2]
• 1942 – Sense “seat of a bicycle or motorcycle”, in Stuparich.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A saddle: the concave leather seat fixed on the back of a horse, mule or donkey for riding: Il ragazzo saltò in sella e partì al galoppo.^[10][13][15]
2. The seat of a bicycle or motorcycle.^[10][15][9]
3. (figurative) A position of power or importance, in phrases such as restare in sella and rimettersi in sella.^[9][13]
4. (geography) A pass across a mountain ridge between two valleys; a col.^[10][13][9]
5. (meteorology) A low-pressure area between two areas of high pressure.^[13]
6. (anatomy) A hollow, as sella del naso and sella turcica.^[13][9]
7. A cut of veal or beef between the last ribs and the leg; in Tuscany, a cut from the back of lamb.^[10][15][16]
8. (nautical) A support for a boat's hull during building or repair.^[10]
9. (obsolete) A seat, a throne.^[10][9]

Word family

• sellaio
• sellare
• selleria
• sellino
• sellatura
• selletta
• insellare
• insellamento
• insellatura
• sottosella

Related words

• sedere
• sedia
• Latin sella

Usage notes

Sella curule was the backless seat of the high magistrates of ancient Rome.^[15] A separate, disused masculine sella was a kind of cigar, named after the statesman Q. Sella (1827–1884).^[17][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3446
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
10. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
11. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti, p. 906
12. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e f Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
15. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
16. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
17. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca