Etymology From Middle English sittyng, sittynge, equivalent to sit + -ing. Cognate with Dutch zitting (“a sitting, session”), German Sitzung (“a sitting, session”), Swedish sittning (“a sitting, session”).
A period during which one is seated for a specific purpose.
Due to the sheer volume of guests, we had to have two sittings for the meal.
The Queen had three sittings for her portrait.
2
A seance or other session with a medium or fortuneteller.
"It's not always easy to get him, and of course a small fee, a guinea I think, is usual, but if you wanted a sitting I could work it." "You think him genuine?" Atkinson shrugged his shoulders.1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
3
A special seat allotted to a seat-holder, at church, etc.
4
The part of the year in which judicial business is transacted.
5
A legislative session (in the sense of meeting, and not period).
6
The incubation of eggs by a bird.
7
A clutch of eggs laid by a brooding bird.
we have thirty-four chicks from eight sittings of eggs
8
Idiomatic An uninterrupted application to anything for a time; the period during which one continues at anything.
Etymology From Middle English sittinge, sittynge, variant of sittinde, sittende, sittande, from Old English sittende (“sitting”), from Proto-Germanic *sitjandz (“sitting”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (“to sit”), equivalent to sit + -ing. Cognate with West Frisian sittend (“sitting”), Dutch zittend (“sitting”), German sitzend (“sitting”), Swedish sittande (“sitting”), Icelandic sitjandi (“sitting”).
1
Executed from a sitting position.
2
Occupying a specific official or legal position; incumbent.
Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
It is an iron rule of French politics that sitting presidents are detested.2022 April 8, John Lichfield, “Get ready for a scary fortnight in French politics: a Le Pen presidency really is possible”, in The Guardian: