сидеть

Forms

сиде́ть (sidétʹ) impf (perfective сесть or посиде́ть, verbal noun (nomen actionis; nomen instrumenti et obiecti) сиде́ние or (nomen instrumenti et obiecti) седло́ or (nomen instrumenti et obiecti) сиду́шка or (nomen instrumenti) седа́лище or (nomen agentis) седо́к or (nomen agentis) сиде́лка or (nomen agentis, occasional) сиде́льщик or (nomen agentis) сиду́н or (nomen experientis) сиде́лец or (nomen agentis et patientis) си́день, verbal adjective сидя́чий)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic сѣдѣти (sěděti), from Proto-Slavic *sěděti, first person *sědjǫ.^[2][3][1] The other Slavic forms are Old Church Slavonic сѣдѣти (sěděti), Ukrainian сидіти (sydity), Bulgarian седя́ (sedjá), Slovene sedeti, Czech seděti and Polish siedzieć.^[2][4] The East Slavic ⟨и⟩ for ⟨ѣ⟩ in the first syllable is an assimilation to the ⟨и⟩ of the endings (*sědiši, *sěditь), as Fortunatov showed;^[2][5] Vasmer rejects Rozwadowski's reconstruction *siděti.^[2]

It is a stative verb in ⟨-ěti⟩ beside Proto-Slavic *sěsti (“to sit down”) (see сесть).^[2][3] The root is Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”), with the long ⟨ē⟩ of Proto-Balto-Slavic *sēdḗˀtei.^[3][1] Its cognates are Lithuanian sėdėti (“to sit”), Latvian sēdēt, Ancient Greek ἕζομαι (hézomai, “I sit”), Old Norse sitja (“to sit; to live”) and Latin sedeō (“to sit”).^[2][3] Sanskrit सीदति (sī́dati, “sits”) and Latin sīdō (“to sit down”) go back to a reduplicated *sizd-.^[2]

садить, седло and сажа belong to the same root.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Izbornik of 1076 has сѣдѧшта “sitting”, of the poor who sit up through the night without sleep, and Job на гноищи сѣдѧ “sitting on the dunghill”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Shaposhnikov gives сѣдѣти, сѣжу for the 11th to 17th centuries and сидѣти, сижу only later.^[3] The Laurentian Chronicle of 1377 already uses сидѣ of imprisonment, under 1059: Izyaslav and his brothers freed their uncle from the dungeon, сидѣ бо лѣт 24 “for he had been sitting there 24 years”.^[7] Old Russian also used the verb for living somewhere and for remaining a widow.^[7]

The colloquial sense “to serve a prison sentence” continues this, and modern Russian also says that a ship сидит low in the water and that a suit сидит well.^[8] The proverb сидеть у моря и ждать погоды “to sit by the sea and wait for the weather” is said of idle waiting.^[8]

Timeline

• 1076 – сѣдѧшта “sitting” in the Izbornik of 1076.^[6]
• 1377 – сидѣ “was imprisoned” in the Laurentian Chronicle, under 1059.^[7]
• end of the 15th century – the spelling сидѣ(л) in a charter from Pereyaslavl.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To sit: to be in a position with the body resting on its lower part and the legs bent or stretched out.^[8][1]
2. Of birds and insects: to perch, to stay still in one place.^[8]
3. To be or stay somewhere, inside something: сидеть в библиотеке.^[8][1]
4. To be in some state, or to be busy with something: сидеть без работы, сидеть над книгой; to look after a child.^[8][1]
5. Of a ship: to draw a certain depth of water.^[8]
6. Of clothes: to fit well or badly.^[8]
7. (colloquial) To serve a prison sentence.^[8][1]

Word family

• посидеть
• высидеть
• засидеться
• отсидеть
• просидеть
• сиделка
• сидение
• сидячий
• седок

Related words

• садить
• сажать
• сесть
• беседа
• седло
• Old East Slavic сѣдѣти (sěděti)

Usage notes

The present is сижу́, сиди́шь, with ⟨ж⟩ from ⟨д⟩ in the first person; the perfective partners are сесть and посидеть.^[8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 3, 618–619
3. ^ a b c d e Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 2, 321
4. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 445
5. ^ a b Shansky, N. M.; Bobrova, T. A. (2004), Škol'nyj ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Школьный этимологический словарь русского языка], 7th ed., Moskva: Drofa, p. s.v. сидеть
6. ^ a b Avanesov, R. I. et al. (eds.) (1988–), Slovar' drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) [Словарь древнерусского языка (XI–XIV вв.)], vols. 1–13, Moskva: Russkij jazyk / Azbukovnik, p. 13, 335
7. ^ a b c d Avanesov, R. I. et al. (eds.) (1988–), Slovar' drevnerusskogo jazyka (XI–XIV vv.) [Словарь древнерусского языка (XI–XIV вв.)], vols. 1–13, Moskva: Russkij jazyk / Azbukovnik, p. 11, 136
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. сидеть