Etymologically
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sessus

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Forms

sessus m (genitive sessūs); fourth declension[1] Medieval sources also decline it in the third declension (genitive sessis).[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin sedeō (“to sit”) + -tus, an action noun.[3][1][4] Classical Latin has it only once, in Apuleius, but it lives on in most Romance languages: Romanian șes, Catalan ses, Old French ses and Spanish sieso.[1] A Vulgar Latin verb *sessicō gave Spanish sosegar.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Apuleius writes locum sessuī impertiunt, “they grant a place for sitting”.[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it named the place where one settles: the homestead at the centre of a holding, a small holding, or the site for a water-mill or a salt-boiler.[2] Köbler records it in the polyptych of Saint-Remi at Reims (mid-9th century) and in a Freising charter of 855.[4] British writers use it for a sitting posture and for a seat.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it for the act of sitting.[3][4]
  • mid 9th century – The polyptych of Saint-Remi uses it.[4]
  • 855 – A Freising charter uses it.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The action of sitting down; a sitting.[3][5]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A sitting posture; a seat.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A rural homestead, the centre of a holding; a small holding.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The site of a water-mill or of a salt-boiler.[2]

Usage notes

Niermeyer also records an adjective sessus for a holding worked by a tenant.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ 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