sedan English · revision 1034

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /səˈdæn/ ''(UK)''; /səˈdæn/, /sɪˈdæn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Of uncertain or unknown origin.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is possibly from a southern Italian dialect derivative of [[it|sede|t=chair]], from [[la|sēdēs|t=seat]], related to ''sedēre'' “to sit”;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) the sedan chair was said to have originated in Naples.^(Etymonline) Weekley suggests that Sir Sanders Duncombe, who popularized the chairs in England in 1634, may have coined the name from Italian ''sedere'' “to sit”.^(Etymonline) The often-repeated derivation from the French town of Sedan, first proposed by Samuel Johnson, lacks historical evidence.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A covered chair for one person carried on two poles by two bearers (1635).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sedan chair was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries.^(OED 1989) The name was transferred to a litter or palanquin (1646),^(OED 1989) and in the 20th century to a closed car seating four or more people (1912 in the OED; 1915 in Barnhart),^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995) a sense used chiefly in North America, where British English says ''saloon''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1634 – sedan chairs introduced to England by Sir Sanders Duncombe.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1635 – a covered chair carried on poles.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1646 – a litter or palanquin.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1912 – a closed automobile.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A closed [[automobile]] with two or four doors and front and rear seats for four or more people, called a [[saloon]] in Britain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[sedan chair]], an enclosed chair for one person carried on poles by two bearers.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sedan chair]]

+ * [[sedentary]]

+ * [[palanquin]]

+ * [[litter]]

+ * [[coupe]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}