English
seat
Seat comes from Old English sǣte, from Proto-Germanic *sētiją ‘seat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sētiją‘seat’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sǣte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sete
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593seat
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sētiją‘seat’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150sǣte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sete
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593seat
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Thus high […] is King Richard seated.”
The story
From Middle English sete, from Old English sǣte, possibly from (or simply cognate with) Old Norse sæti (‘seat’), both from Proto-Germanic *sētiją (‘seat’), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (‘to sit’); compare Old English set (‘seat’). Noun sense 2 (‘location or site’) is probably derived from Old English sǣte (‘house’), which is related to Old High German sāza (‘sedan, seat, domicile’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
president, size, set, sit, sitting, method, chair, sell, session, resident, nest, settle, siege, niche, saddle, assess, possess, exodus, reside, subsidy, residue, residual, nye, insidious, sedan, sediment, dissident, prasad, soot, sedentary, anode, cathode, beset, setter, obsess, presidio, sedative, presidium, chaise, salo, 96 more
Today it means
noun Something to be sat upon.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / seat