zit Dutch · revision 37175

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1301, Middle Dutch (Flanders)|origins=ine-pro *sed-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /zɪt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''zit''' ''m'' (plural zitten, diminutive zitje n)^(Wiktionary)

+ The older form ''zitte'' was long obsolete by the 20th century, though 19th-century writers still used it in an archaising style.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|sit|t=seat]], a noun formed in Middle Dutch from the stem of the verb [[zitten]].^(MNW)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary) The same formation is [[gmh|siz]] (modern [[de|Sitz]]) and [[fy|sit]].^(MNW)

+

+ 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.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|458) The verb goes back to [[ine-pro|*sed-|t=to sit down]], the root of [[zetel]] and of the dialect word [[zeet]] “seat”.^(EWN)^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ ==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.^(MNW)

+

+ ==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.^(WNT) The sense “the part of a chair one sits on” (1740) is now obsolete except in dialects.^(WNT)

+

+ 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.^(WNT)^(Van Dale 2014) ''Neem een zit'', “take a seat”, is regional.^(WNT) The diminutive [[zitje]] can be a small stool (1911) or a seating corner.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ In Belgium a ''zit'' is also an examination period at a university or college: a student who fails takes a ''tweede zit'', the resits.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary) Belgian usage also has ''zit'' for a seat on a board or in parliament.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1301 – Middle Dutch ''sit'' “seat” is recorded in Flanders.^(MNW)

+ * 1521 – An account mentions ''sitten'', seats, made for a counting-house.^(WNT)

+ * 1599 – ''Sitte'' “manner of sitting” is recorded.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|458)

+ * 1620 – ''Zit'' “bench” is recorded.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|458)

+ * 1731 – ''Een dronk is een zit waard'' appears in a comedy.^(WNT)

+ * 1779 – ''Zit'' “the act of sitting” is recorded.^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|458)

+ * 1857 – ''Dat was een heele zit'', “that was a long sit”, is recorded.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way one [[m|en|sit|alt=sits]]; a sitting, a stretch of time spent seated: ''De reis naar Rome is een flinke zit.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Belgium)'' An [[m|en|examination]] period at a university or college: ''In de tweede zit legde ze nog twee examens af.''^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated or regional)'' A [[m|en|seat]], something to sit on.^(WNT)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Belgium)'' A seat on a board or in a [[parlement|alt=parliament]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[zitbank]]

+ * [[zitdag]]

+ * [[zitje]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[zitten]]

+ * [[zetel]]

+ * [[zeet]]

+ * [[de|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;^(Stoett 1923)^(WNT) Stoett traces it to the 17th century.^(Stoett 1923)^(WNT) ''Geen zit in het gat hebben'' is a coarse way of saying that someone cannot sit still for long.^(Stoett 1923)^(WNT)

+

+ ''Zit'' is also the present-tense form of [[zitten]] in ''ik zit'', ''hij zit''.^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}