seat English · revision 2869

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=non sæti}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /siːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sete]], [[bor|non|sæti|t=seat, position]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from the stem of [[m|non|sitja|t=to sit]],^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*sētiz|alt=*sæt-]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Middle Dutch gesaete and German Gesäß “buttocks”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*sed-|t=to sit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the root of [[sit]] and of Latin sedēre.^(Cresswell 2021) Old English had sæt “a place of ambush”, and Middle English sete may have been partly influenced by it.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A thing or place to sit on: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'' and Layamon,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) The OED's first sense, the action of sitting, is from about 1200.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A chair of dignity or authority is a ''seat'' from about 1200.^(Etymonline) The sense “residence, established place” is from the late 13th century, an extended use influenced by Old French siege and Latin sēdēs.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The part of the body in which a humour arises is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and the location of a disease from before 1393, in Gower.^(Barnhart 1988) A city where a government sits is from about 1400,^(Etymonline) and the part of a saddle or chair on which one sits from about 1400.^(Etymonline) The buttocks are a ''seat'' from about 1600, and the part of a garment covering them from 1835.^(Etymonline) A place in a legislature is from 1774,^(Etymonline) and ''seat belt'', first in aeroplanes, from 1915.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to place on a seat”, is from 1589,^(OED 1989) and of a theatre, “to have seats for”, by 1830.^(Etymonline) In Scotland ''seat'' long meant a sitting of a court.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a thing to sit on.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * late 13th century – a residence.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1393 – the seat of a disease.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – the seat of government.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1589 – verb, to sit down.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – the buttocks.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1774 – a seat in parliament.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – ''seat belt''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something to sit on, such as a [[chair]] or [[bench]]; a place to sit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The part of a chair on which one sits.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The [[buttocks]], or the part of a garment that covers them.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A place of [[government]] or centre of an activity: ''the seat of learning''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Membership in a legislature, or a [[constituency]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A large country house.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place on a seat; to cause to sit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To have seats for: ''the hall seats 500''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To fit firmly in place.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[seater]]

+ * [[seatless]]

+ * [[backseat]]

+ * [[disseat]]

+ * [[seatback]]

+ * [[seating]]

+ * [[seatmate]]

+ * [[seat-of-the-pants]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sit]]

+ * [[set]]

+ * [[settle]]

+ * [[saddle]]

+ * [[sedentary]]

+ * [[session]]

+ * [[siege]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}