English
sedentary
Sedentary comes from Latin sedentārius ‘sitting’, from sedeō ‘to sit, to be seated’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-éh₁-ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedentārius‘sitting’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sédentaire
- Englishearliest quotation 1667sedentary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-éh₁-ye-tireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō‘to sit, to be seated’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedentārius‘sitting’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600sédentaire
- Englishearliest quotation 1667sedentary
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book VIII: “Such restless revolution day by day Repeated, while the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
set, sit, sitting, method, sell, chair, seat, settle, nest, niche, possess, saddle, exodus, subsidy, nye, prasad, soot, beset, cathode, setter, anode, sate, chaise, besiege, ersatz, salo, nidal, nias, polyhedron, 80 more
through Proto-Italic *sedēō ‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’
possession, obsession, assessor, assize, presidente, 23 more
through Latin sedeō ‘to sit, to be seated’
size, president, session, siege, resident, assess, residue, residual, reside, insidious, sedan, possessive, sediment, obsess, sedative, dissident, presidio, presidium, sedate, séance, sessile, seance, 27 more
Today it means
adj Not moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / sedentary