zitten Dutch · revision 37174

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=901–1000, Wachtendonck Psalms|origins=ine-pro *sed-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈzɪtə(n)/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''zitten''' (past ''zat'', plural ''zaten''; past participle ''gezeten'')^(Wiktionary)^(WNT)

+ Middle Dutch had a third person singular ''set'' beside ''sit'', and an imperative ''sete''.^(MNW)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|sitten]], [[inh|odt|sitten]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*sittjan]], [[inh|gem-pro|*sitjaną|t=to sit]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(ONW) The same verb is [[osx|sittian]], [[goh|sizzen]] (modern [[de|sitzen]]), [[ofs|sitta]] (modern [[fy|sitte]]), [[ang|sittan]] (modern [[en|sit]]) and [[non|sitja]], all meaning “to sit”.^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) The Germanic ⟨*sitjan-⟩ comes from an older ⟨*setjan-⟩; beside it stands a present without the suffix, [[got|𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽|tr=sitan]], from ⟨*setan-⟩.^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912) Kroonen notes that the difference between the two presents is debated and may continue an old present with an ⟨i⟩ suffix.^(Kroonen 2013) The causative of the same verb is [[zetten]] “to set”.^(EWN)

+

+ The root is [[ine-pro|*sed-|t=to sit down]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)^(Kroonen 2013) It is also the source of [[la|sedeō|t=to sit]], whose compounds gave Dutch [[president]] and [[subsidie]], of [[grc|ἕζομαι|tr=hézomai|t=to sit down]] and [[m|grc|ἕδρα|tr=hédrā|t=seat]], seen in [[kathedraal]], and of [[lt|sėdėti|t=to sit]], [[cu|сѣдѣти|tr=sěděti|t=to sit]] and [[sga|saidid|t=sits]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Kroonen 2013) Native words of the same root are [[nest]], [[zadel]], [[zetel]] and [[bezadigd]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Wachtendonck Psalms of the 10th century use Old Dutch ''sitten'' in its plain sense: ''thia saton an portun'', “those who sat in the gate”.^(EWN)^(ONW) In a rhymed Bible of the late 12th century it already means “to be, to live in a state”: ''thie nu mit friden sitzest'', “you who now live in peace”.^(EWN)^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''sitten'' is found in a Rhineland text of about 1200, where children sit and talk of love.^(VMNW)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Both senses of the modern verb, “to sit” and “to be somewhere”, were present from the start.^(ONW)^(EWN) Old Dutch could say of a childless couple that they ''ane kint sitten'', “sat without child”.^(ONW) Middle Dutch also used ''sitten'' for a ruler on his throne, for a court in session, for living somewhere and for clothes that fit.^(VMNW)^(MNW) A Limburg glossary of 1240 renders Latin ''discumbere'' “to recline at table” as ''sitten eten'', “sit eating”; the construction of ''zitten'' with another verb led to the modern ''zitten te'' + infinitive for an ongoing action.^(VMNW)^(MNW)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Many phrases were formed with ''zitten'' and a preposition.^(WNT) ''Op de tafel zitten'', to work as a tailor, who sat cross-legged on his table, is recorded in 1695 and is now obsolete.^(WNT) ''Op het kussen zitten'', to hold office in a town or state government, refers to the cushions with coats of arms on which magistrates sat;^(Stoett 1923) Stoett finds it from the 17th century.^(Stoett 1923) Modern dictionaries add the senses “to fit” of clothes and “to serve a prison sentence”.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary) A newer use, ''er zit iets in'', “something is to be expected”, was noted as a neologism in the 1960s: ''een bedevaart zit er dus niet in'', “so a pilgrimage is out of the question” (1966).^(Reinsma 1975)

+

+ Dutch passed the verb on to Afrikaans [[m|af|sit]], to Negerhollands (''sit'', ''set''), Berbice Dutch (''sete'') and Skepi Dutch (''set''), and to Javindo (''sitten'').^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''sitten'' is recorded in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(ONW)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * c. 1200 – Middle Dutch ''sitten'' is recorded in the Rhineland.^(VMNW)

+ * 1240 – A Limburg glossary gives ''sitten eten'' for Latin ''discumbere''.^(VMNW)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 1531 – A Bible translation has the king come ''sittende op een ionge van een Ezelinne'', “sitting on a young ass”.^(WNT)

+ * 1695 – ''Op de tafel zitten'' “to work as a tailor” is recorded.^(WNT)

+ * 1966 – ''Er zit iets (niet) in'' “something is (not) to be expected” is recorded.^(Reinsma 1975)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|sit]], to rest on one's buttocks: ''Opa zit graag in zijn leunstoel bij het raam.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(ANW)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To be, to be [[m|en|located]] somewhere: ''De sleutels zitten in mijn jaszak.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # (of clothes) To [[m|en|fit]]: ''Dat nieuwe jasje zit je perfect.''^(Van Dale 2014)

+ # (auxiliary, with ''te'') Expresses an ongoing action: ''Ze zat de hele avond te lezen.''^(Wiktionary)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # ''(informal)'' To be in [[gevangenis|alt=prison]], to serve a sentence: ''Hij heeft drie jaar gezeten.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Netherlands, office jargon)'' To meet, to have a [[m|en|meeting]] about something.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bezitten]]

+ * [[gezeten]]

+ * [[zitbank]]

+ * [[zitbeen]]

+ * [[zitje]]

+ * [[zitkamer]]

+ * [[zitpenning]]

+ * [[zitplaats]]

+ * [[zittenblijver]]

+ * [[zitting]]

+ * [[zitvlak]]

+ * [[zitvlees]]

+ * [[zit]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[zetel]]

+ * [[zetten]]

+ * [[zeet]]

+ * [[nest]]

+ * [[zadel]]

+ * [[en|sit]]

+ * [[de|sitzen]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ga maar op de blauwe steen zitten!'', “go and sit on the blue stone”, was a Gelderland way of telling someone to clear off, recorded in 1974; the blue stone in Nijmegen and Leiden marked where condemned people were executed.^(Van Sterkenburg 2001) ''Iets zit er niet aan'' means that one cannot afford it.^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}