sedile

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [sɛˈdiː.ɫɛ]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [seˈdiː.le]^[1]

Forms

sedīle n (genitive sedīlis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sedeō (“to sit”) + -īle.^[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨sedeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *sed-ē- (“to be seated”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed-eh₁- (“to be seated”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Virgil.^[4] Köbler dates Virgil 70–19 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant anything to sit on, a seat, bench, stool, chair, as in Virgil, Seneca and Pliny the Younger, and Lewis & Short note it is mostly poetic and post-Augustan, not used by Cicero.^[2][5][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means seat, bench, stool.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for a throne, a seat in a law court, an episcopal see and a dwelling.^[8] British Medieval Latin used it also for a stall in church.^[9]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.^[6][4]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.^[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A seat, bench, stool.^[2][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) A throne; a bishop's see.^[8][9]

Related words

• sedeō
• sella
• sēdēs
• English sedilia

Usage notes

Lewis & Short give sella and scamnum as synonyms.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press