zit

Forms

zit m (plural zitten, diminutive zitje n)^[1] The older form zitte was long obsolete by the 20th century, though 19th-century writers still used it in an archaising style.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle Dutch sit (“seat”), a noun formed in Middle Dutch from the stem of the verb zitten.^[3][2][1] The same formation is Middle High German siz (modern German Sitz) and West Frisian sit.^[3]

De Vries and De Tollenaere date ⟨sitte⟩ “manner of sitting” to 1599 and ⟨zit⟩ “bench” to 1620, with the sense “the act of sitting” following in 1779.^[4] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit down”), the root of zetel and of the dialect word zeet “seat”.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a Flemish text of 1301 Bethulia, a town near Jerusalem besieged by Holofernes, is called des lants sit, “the seat of the land”, apparently its chief town.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century zit was a seat, usually one made for sitting on: a 1521 account pays a chest-maker for making sitten for a counting-house.^[2] The sense “the part of a chair one sits on” (1740) is now obsolete except in dialects.^[2]

From “seat” the word moved to the act of sitting and the way one sits, and to a stretch of time spent seated: dat was een hele zit, “that was a long sit”, is recorded in 1857.^[2][7] Neem een zit, “take a seat”, is regional.^[2] The diminutive zitje can be a small stool (1911) or a seating corner.^[2][1]

In Belgium a zit is also an examination period at a university or college: a student who fails takes a tweede zit, the resits.^[7][1] Belgian usage also has zit for a seat on a board or in parliament.^[1]

Timeline

• 1301 – Middle Dutch sit “seat” is recorded in Flanders.^[3]
• 1521 – An account mentions sitten, seats, made for a counting-house.^[2]
• 1599 – Sitte “manner of sitting” is recorded.^[4]
• 1620 – Zit “bench” is recorded.^[4]
• 1731 – Een dronk is een zit waard appears in a comedy.^[2]
• 1779 – Zit “the act of sitting” is recorded.^[4]
• 1857 – Dat was een heele zit, “that was a long sit”, is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The way one sits; a sitting, a stretch of time spent seated: De reis naar Rome is een flinke zit.^[7][2][1]
2. (Belgium) An examination period at a university or college: In de tweede zit legde ze nog twee examens af.^[7][1]
3. (dated or regional) A seat, something to sit on.^[2][1]
4. (Belgium) A seat on a board or in a parliament.^[1]

Word family

• zitbank
• zitdag
• zitje

Related words

• zitten
• zetel
• zeet
• German Sitz

Usage notes

Een dronk is een zit waard, “a drink is worth a seat”, was said when someone offered a drink sat down to stay for a chat;^[6][2] Stoett traces it to the 17th century.^[6][2] Geen zit in het gat hebben is a coarse way of saying that someone cannot sit still for long.^[6][2]

Zit is also the present-tense form of zitten in ik zit, hij zit.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
3. ^ a b c d Verwijs, Eelco; Verdam, Jacob (1885–1929), Middelnederlandsch woordenboek, 11 vols., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff; gtb.ivdnt.org
4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 458
5. ^ Philippa, Marlies; Debrabandere, Frans; Quak, Arend; Schoonheim, Tanneke; Sijs, Nicoline van der (2003–2009), Etymologisch woordenboek van het Nederlands, 4 vols., Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press; online via etymologiebank.nl
6. ^ a b c d Stoett, F. A. (1923–1925), Nederlandsche spreekwoorden, spreekwijzen, uitdrukkingen en gezegden, 4th ed., 3 vols., Zutphen: Thieme
7. ^ a b c d Van Dale Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands (2014), Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Uitgevers
8. ^ WikiWoordenboek (Dutch Wiktionary), nl.wiktionary.org