Etymology 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”). Cognates * Middle Dutch gesaete * Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)
Several pressmen have nearly lost their lives, to say nothing of the seats of their trousers, from these creatures.1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed:
I love these new biker pants I bought! There's padding in the seat to protect my rear end.2006 July 20, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic):
2
A place in which to sit.
There are two hundred seats in this classroom.
The humor of my proposition appealed more strongly to Miss Trevor than I had looked for, and from that time forward she became her old self again;[…]. Our table in the dining-room became again the abode of scintillating wit and caustic repartee, Farrar bracing up to his old standard, and the demand for seats in the vicinity rose to an animated competition.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
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[…] Grand Union proposes making a seat part of the price of a ticket, with 50% refunds for those travelling for longer than 30 minutes unable to obtain a seat.2019 October, “South Wales open access bid”, in Modern Railways, page 15:
3
The horizontal portion of a chair or other furniture designed for sitting.
He sat on the arm of the chair rather than the seat, which always annoyed his mother.
the seat of a saddle
4
A piece of furniture made for sitting, such as a chair, stool, or bench; any improvised place for sitting.
She pulled the seat from under the table to allow him to sit down.
› Something to be sat upon. › A piece of furniture made for sitting, such…
Hey, fighter boy, our radar's putting out enough energy to launch your seat from this distance!
› Something to be sat upon.
6
The part of an object or individual (usually the buttocks) directly involved in sitting.
Instead of saying "sit down", she said "place your seat on this chair".
7
The part of a piece of clothing (usually pants or trousers) covering the buttocks.
The seat of these trousers is almost worn through.
8
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A part or surface on which another part or surface rests.
The seat of the valve had become corroded.
› A location or site.
9
Figuratively A membership in an organization, particularly a representative body.
Our neighbor has a seat at the stock exchange and in congress.
10
The location of a governing body.
Washington D.C. is the seat of the U.S. government.
The K'o-tzu-lo-su Kirghiz chou bordered on the K'o-shih chuan-ch'ü and its seat at A-t'u-shih was only twenty-five kilometers from K'o-shih shih.1963, Henry G. Schwarz, Policies and Administration of Minority Areas in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, 1949-1959, volume 2, →OCLC, page 338:
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But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness.2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
11
An electoral district, especially for a national legislature.
Certain Commonwealth countries
12
A temporary residence, such as a country home or a hunting lodge.
A man of fortune, who lives in London, may, in plays, operas, routs, assemblies, French cookery, French sauces, and French wines, spend as much yearly, as he could do, were he to live in the most hospitable manner at his seat in the country.1806, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England:
13
The place occupied by anything, or where any person, thing or quality is situated or resides; a site.
Where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 2:13:
He that builds a fair house upon an ill seat committeth himself to prison.1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Building”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
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a seat of plenty, content, and tranquillity1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:
I stopped taking the sweets and condiments I had got from home. The mind having taken a different turn, the fondness for condiments wore away, and I now relished the boiled spinach which in Richmond tasted insipid, cooked without condiments. Many such experiments taught me that the real seat of taste was not the tongue but the mind.1927–1929, M[ohandas] K[aramchand] Gandhi, chapter XVII, in The Story of My Experiments with Truth: Translated from the Original in Gujarati, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Ahmedabad, Gujarat: Navajivan Press, →OCLC:
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LawEngland, Wales One of a series of departmental placements given to a trainee solicitor as part of their training contract.
15
Historical Any of several autonomous regions in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.
16
The starting point of a fire.
17
Posture, or way of sitting, on horseback.
She had so good a seat and hand she might be trusted with any mount.1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter III, in Daniel Deronda, volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:
George was a perfect picture on horseback; he had a light, firm seat, and seemed as if he were a part of his horse, and was only happy when away in the saddle for hours together, mustering cattle or tracking a missing horse.1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 85:
Etymology 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”). Cognates * Middle Dutch gesaete * Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)
To put an object into a place where it will rest; to fix; to set firm.
Be sure to seat the gasket properly before attaching the cover.
From their foundations, loosening to and fro, / They plucked the seated hills.1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
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One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
2
To provide with a place to sit.
This classroom seats two hundred students.
The waiter seated us and asked what we would like to drink.
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The guests were no sooner seated but they entered into a warm debate.1712, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Effects of Air on Human Bodies:
He used to seat you on the piano and then, with vehement gestures and pirouettings, would argue the case. Not one word of the speech did you understand.1887, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, History of Woman Suffrage:
The older Jungfrau locomotives are of 330 h.p. only, but can push two coaches seating a total of 80 passengers up the 1 in 4 at 4 m.p.h.1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 755:
3
To request or direct one or more persons to sit.
Please seat the audience after the anthem and then introduce the first speaker.
4
To recognize the standing of a person or persons by providing them with one or more seats which would allow them to participate fully in a meeting or session.
Only half the delegates from the state were seated at the convention because the state held its primary too early.
You have to be a member to be seated at the meeting. Guests are welcome to sit in the visitors section.
5
To assign the seats of.
to seat a church
6
To cause to occupy a post, site, or situation; to station; to establish; to fix; to settle.
This valve isn't seating properly.
Thus high […] is King Richard seated.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
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They had seated themselves in Nova Guiana.c. 1610?, Walter Raleigh, A Discourse of War:
The folds, where sheepe at night doe seat.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
8
To settle; to plant with inhabitants.
to seat a country
The Plantations, for the most Part, are high and pleasantly seated1747, William Stith, The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia: