| 释义 |
▪ I. sit, n.1|sɪt|
[f. the vb. Cf. Fris. sit, Du. zit, MLG. sit, MHG. and G. sitz seat, sitting.]
1. a. The manner in which an article of dress, or some part of one, is disposed or fits the person.
1776Mrs. Thrale Let. Johnson 16 May, Long lectures about the sit of a cap, which you will not give me a minute to put on as it should be. 1785Mackenzie Lounger No. 22 ⁋9 She looked very narrowly at the Poupée's head-dress, and the particular sit of her tucker. 1837Q. Rev. LIX. 414 Accounting for the sit of a plume by saying that he had fixed it in a moment of enthusiasm. 1861Sat. Rev. 20 July 61 A child..taught to care for nothing but the sit of its frock. 1892Gd. Words Sept. 634/2 Rather concerned about the sit of a couple of folds in her dress.
b. Inherent character or tendency.
1866D. Greenwell Ess. 107 Natures the whole bent and sit of which is powerfully attracted to good.
c. Manner of sitting. Cf. seat n. 2.
1820M. Edgeworth Let. 10 Aug. (1979) 208 Their bodies look as if..they had taken an eternal sit from the stiff square stays of former day. 1894M. Dyan Man's Keeping (1899) 259 The dignified step of the..black chargers, the rigid sit of the soldiers.
2. a. A spell of sitting.
1832Tennyson in Mem. (1897) I. vi. 147 After this long sit however I ought certainly to have some interesting passages to tongue. 1852Gladstone in Morley Life (1905) I. iii. viii. 437, I have had a long sit with Lord Aberdeen to-day. 1971N. Freeling Over High Side i. 8 He wanted a nice cup of tea and a sit.
b. Cant. (See quot.)
1907G. R. Sims in Referee 17 Feb., To be ‘at the sit’ is to travel by buses and trams for the purpose of picking pockets.
3. A sinking or settling down (of a wall, the roof of a mine, etc.).
1808Jamieson, Sit, the state of sinking, as applied to a wall. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. II. 98/1 If the roof were tender, it would be apt to break away and fill up the passage, which would be a sit. 1885Beveridge Culross & Tulliallan II. 234 Many sits or depressions have taken place in the surface.
4. The seat of the body.
1903Harker Rom. of the Nursery 273, I climbed out of my cot and went downstairs, sit-first, bumpetty-bump on every step.
▪ II. sit, n.2 slang (orig. Printing).
Also with point.
Abbrev. of situation. Now esp. in sit(s) vac, situation(s) vacant (see situation 6 b).
1853‘Mark Twain’ in Hannibal (Missouri) Jrnl. 8 Sept. 2/1, I shall look out for a sit; for they say there is plenty of work to be had for sober compositors. 1878W. Whitman Daybks. & Notebks. (1978) I. 110 Applied to Bart Bonsall, for a sit. for Harry. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 125 Sit., an abbreviation for the word ‘situation’, an engagement for work. 1896Daily News 15 Feb. 10/6 Compositor..seeks change... Not out of sit. 1901[see bovrilize v.]. 1914Joyce Dubliners 91 But Hogan has a good sit, hasn't he? 1969Guardian 29 July 4/8 Asians.., with the sort of skills that the ‘Sits vac’ columns of British newspapers are clamouring for—nurses, motor mechanics, turners, secretaries. 1970Ibid. 14 Nov. 9/2 (heading) ‘I felt I could do the job.’..Peter Terson on the Sit. Vac. he didn't fill. 1973Ibid. 12 Feb. 11/4 June Moelzer wants..a job... She sifts through the ‘sit vac’ columns, becoming less and less choosy as the months go by. 1975Listener 8 May 609/3 Raking through the sits. vac., John Timpson..reported an advertisement in a Devon local paper for a person ‘to move Earth—about two days' work’. 1980D. Francis Reflex xiii. 161 No rides, no income. You start looking at ‘sits vac’.
▪ III. sit, n.3
Also sitt.
Abbrev. of sitting-room.
1937A. Christie Dumb Witness vi. 58 We've a nice bungalow at Hemel End, two bed., one sitt. 1961[see bed n. 1 f].
▪ IV. sit, v.|sɪt|
Forms: (see below). Pa. tense and pple. sat |sæt|.
[Common Teut.: OE. sittan (sæt, sǽton, ᵹeseten), = OFris. sitta (WFris. sitte), MDu. sitten, zitten (Du. zitten), OS. sittian, sittean (MLG. and LG. sitten), OHG. sizzan, sizzen (G. sitzen), ON. and Icel. sitja (Norw. sitja, sitta, sita; MSw. sitia, sittia, Sw. sitta; Da. sidde):—Teut. type *sitjan, for which Goth. had sitan. The stem *set-, pre-Teut. *sed-, is widely represented in the cognate languages, as in Lith. sedeti, Lat. sedēre, Gr. ἕζεσθαι (cf. ἕδος seat), etc.
In some senses there has been confusion between sit and the corresponding causal verb set, analogous to that which has existed between lie and lay, but in modern use the two verbs are clearly distinguished. Some ME. examples of this confusion, in senses where it does not otherwise occur, are probably no more than scribal errors.]
A. Illustration of forms.
1. inf. (α) 1 sittan (syttan, sitton), 2–4 (7) sitten (3 Orm. sittenn), 4–5 sytten, 5 syttyn, cyttyn (6 erron. sitting).
c888K. ælfred Boeth. vii. §3 Hu meahtest þu sittan..? 971Blickl. Hom. 237 He ᵹeseah..Matheus æ nne sitton. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, He ne myhte..sitten ne lien. c1200Ormin 14086 He wollde sittenn þær. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 218 None..sitten ne mowe þere longe. c1440Promp. Parv. 78/2 Cyttyn, sedeo. Ibid. 457/1 Syttyn, on a sete. [1513Douglas æneid viii. vi. 127 He..mayd him sitting doun. 1642H. More Song of Soul iii. 26 A lamp, that men do sitten by.]
(β) 1 sitta, 3–6 sitte (4 zitte), sytte.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xx. 23 Sitta..to suiðra minra. a1250Prov. ælfred 217 in O.E. Misc. 116 Syker he may sitte. c1275Passion our Lord 311 ibid. 46 Ich ine heuene schal sytte. 1340Ayenb. 264 Riȝtnesse..ssel zitte amydde. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 95 Þere þe lorde..liketh nouȝte to sytte. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 39 The peleer there I was wont to sitte. 1470–85Malory Arthur iii. iv. 103 There shall no man sytte therin.
(γ) 3 siten, 3–4 (6 Sc.) site, 4 sijt, siet; 4 sete, 4, 6 Sc. seit, 9 dial. seet.
a1300Havelok 366 His knictes dede he alle site. c1325Prose Psalter cxxxi. 13 Her childer shul siten. 13..Cursor M. 8291 Þan can he seit On þat tre. Ibid. 14734 Þair setles þat þai in can sete. Ibid. 27335 Hu þe man..Sal siet. Ibid. 27337 To sijt þe preist fot be-side. 1513Douglas æneid iv. vi. 6 To site so hie ane charge. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. I. 28 To seit with so mony wrangis. 1820Wilbraham Cheshire Gloss. 86 Seet, to sit.
(δ) 4–6 syt (5 sytt), sitt, 5– sit (9 dial. zit).
a1400–50Alexander 235 Made him to sytt On a sege. Ibid. 592 Þat folke..May sitt & carpe. 1427Acts Privy Council III. 232 Þ at..þei wolde sit upright. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §18 They wyll folowe those stakes,..and syt by them. c1595Capt. Wyatt Dudley's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 47 Beinge suffred to sitt..at libertie. 1886Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. 852 Plase to zit down.
2. pres. ind.
a. 1st pers. sing. 1 north. sitto, 1–3, 6 sitte, 4 sitt, 6 syt, 6– sit.
c825Vesp. Psalter xxv. 5 And mid arleasum ic ne sitto. a1000Riddles xxv. 7 Þær ic glado sitte. a1225Ancr. R. 358 Hwon ich sitte uorto demen. 13..Cursor M. 20840 Queþer i sitt, or stand. 1530Palsgr. 719, I syt..amongest other folkes.
b. 2nd pers. sing. (α) 1 sites, 4 sittes, 4–6 sittis.
c825Vesp. Psalter ix. 5 Ðu sites ofer ðrymseld. a1352Minot Poems i. 1 Trew king, þat sittes in trone. a1400–50Alexander 1872 Þou..sittis..in sege. a1568A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 169 Sen so thow sittis in saitt.
(β) 1 sitest, 1– sittest, 4–5 sittist, 6 syttest; 1, 6–7 sitst, 7 sit'st, sitt'st; 4 sist.
971Blickl. Hom. 141 Þu þe sitest ofer cherubine. c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) ix. 4 Ðu sitst on ðam hean setle. Ibid. lxxix. 2 Ðu ðe..sittest ofer cherubin. c1250Owl & Night. 89 Þu sittest a day and flyhst a niht. 1388Wyclif Acts xxiii. 3 Thou sittist. 1390Gower Conf. v. 5742 O thou..That hihe sist. 1535Coverdale Ps. xlix. 20 Thou syttest. 1592Kyd Sp. Trag. ii. iv. 24 The more thou sitst. 1648Milton Ps. lxxx. 5 Thou Shepherd..That sitt'st between the Cherubs.
c. 3rd pers. sing. (α) 1 siteð, sitteð, 1, 4 sitteþ (5 -iþ), 4– sitteth (5 -ethe, -yth); 4 sytteþ, 6 syttethe, -ith, -yth.
c825Vesp. Psalter ix. 29 [He] siteð in searwum. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xix. 28 Þonne sitteþ sunu monnes in sedle. 1390Gower Conf. iv. 2724 Hou he sitteth be the fyr. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 300 Þis veine sittiþ ful nyȝ þe gret arterie. 1504Bury Wills (Camden) 102 The which tenement syttyth and lyyth [etc.]. a1530Lupset Treat. Charite (1539) 8 It..syttethe faste and sure. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 160 Where the winde sitteth.
(β) 1–5 sit (4 zit), 1, 4 sitt, 4 sitte, 7 sith; 1, 4 syt, sytt, 4 sytte.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §13 Sit se hehsta sceoppend on his heahsetle. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xix. 28 Þonne mannes sunu sitt [v.r. sytt, syt]. c1220Bestiary 701 Bi hire make ȝe [= she] sit o niȝt. 1340Ayenb. 263 He..zit aþe riȝt half of god. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1832 Lucrece, She sytte in halle. 1390Gower Conf. viii. 2428 So sitte it wel that [etc.]. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas viii. xxv. (1558) 17 b, Wher he sit crowned. 1609J. Davies (Heref.) Hum. Heaven on Earth clxviii, Heere, in a Chimney,..Sith Grimnesse.
(γ) 1, 4 sites, 4 sitis; 1 sittæs, 1, 4 sittes (5 -ez), 4–5 sittus, 5–6 sittis, 6– sits (7 sitts); 4 syttes, 5–6 syttis.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xix. 28 Mið ðy sittes sunu monnes in seðel. 13..Cursor M. 2086 He sittes wit drightin. Ibid. 26557 He..Sites [v.r. sitis] on his..right hand. c1350Will. Palerne 446 Þat he sittus in mi siȝt. a1400–50Alexander 47 As he on dese syttis. c1420Wars Alexander 73 It sittez till hym. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 37 In fife..sittis the Primat. 1693Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) III. 100 If the wind sitts fair.
d. pl. (α) 1 sittað, 2 sitteð, 3 sittet, sytteþ; 1 north. sittas, -es, 6 Sc. sittis.
c825Vesp. Psalter cxxxi. 12 Bearn heara..sittað ofer seld min. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke i. 79 Ðaðe in ðiostrum..sittas [c 1000 sittað, c 1160sitteð]. c1130O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1130, Hæᵹe sitteð þa aceres dæleth. c1250in O.E. Misc. 168 Ȝe þat sittet [v.r. sytteþ] i-schrud wið skarlet. 1508Dunbar Tua mariit Wemen 440 Thai all, that sittis about [etc.].
(β) 3–6 (7) sitten; 4 sytten.
c1250in O.E. Misc. 190 [They] sitten þer to-gederes. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 206 Men..þat in merke sytten. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 34 b, [To] iest vpon the geastes, as they sitten at the table. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. March 1 Why sytten we soe? [1642H. More Song of Soul ii. i. iv. 9 They sitten soft.]
(γ) 4 site, sete, 6 sitte, 6– sit.
13..Cursor M. 25587 Þar we gang and þar we sete [v.r. site]. c1586Sidney Ps. xxxiv. vii, Gods own eyes on good men sit. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 346 They sitte nerer his knee. 1749Gray Installat. Ode 15 There sit the sainted sage, the bard divine.
3. pres. subj. (α) sing. 1–7 sitte, 4–6 sytte; 4–5 sitt, 7– sit. (β) pl. 1–2, 4 sitten (1 sitton, north. sitta).
c825Vesp. Psalter c. 6 Ðæt hie sitten. Ibid., Hymn iv. 15 Ðæt he sitte. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark x. 37 Þætte..we sitta [c 1000 sitton, c 1160sitten]. a1067in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 226 Sitte his mann ðer ðar he sitte. a1225Ancr. R. 10 Þet weneð þet order sitte iðe kurtel. 13..Cursor M. 17583 Þof he sitt in heuen hall. a1400–50Alexander 862 Þof it vnsemely me sitt. 1502Arnolde Chron. C vj, Yt the styward..sytte not from hensforward [etc.]. 1609Bible (Douay) Deut. xxix. 20 Al the curses sitte upon him. 1615G. Sandys Trav. (1637) 57 If the wind sit southward.
4. imp. (α) sing.. (later also pl.) 1–4 site, 3–4 sete; 1, 4 sitt, 5 sitte, 4– sit; 4–5 sytte, 5 sytt, 5–6 syt.
c825Vesp. Psalter cix. 1 Site to ðe swiðran minre. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 44 Sitt to suiðra min. a1225Ancr. R. 290 Ne lie þu nout..ne site nouðer. a1275Prov. ælfred 635 in O.E. Misc., Sete þanne..besiden him seluen. 13..Cursor M. 3683 Sitt [v.r. sit, sete] vp and ete. 1382Wyclif Isaiah xlvii. 5 Syt, be stille [1388 sitte thou]. ― Matt. xxvi. 36 Sitte ȝee heer. c1460Towneley Myst. xviii. 68 Com sytt! soyn shall we se. 1535Coverdale Ruth iv. 2 Syt you downe here.
(β) pl. 1 sitte, sittað, -aþ, 2–3 sitteð, -eþ, 4 sitteth; 3 sytteþ, 4 syttyþ; 1 north. sittas, 4 sittes, sites.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 36 Sittas [Rushw. sittaþ] her. c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 49 Sitte ᵹe on ceastre. c1205Lay. 22827 Sitteð, sitteð swiðe. c1275Passion our Lord 150 in O.E. Misc. 41 Sytteþ her þe hwile. 13..Cursor M. 4975 Godmen, sittes [v.r. sites] a littel tom. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 952 Syttyþ dowun vpp-on ȝoure knees. 1382Wyclif Jer. xiii. 18 Beth mekid, sitteth.
5. pa. ind.
a. sing. (1st and 3rd pers.) (α) 1, 3–5 set, 4 zet, sett, 4–5 sette.
Instances of set in the sense of ‘sat’ later than the 15th cent. probably belong to set v.1
c825Vesp. Psalter xxv. 5 Ic ne set in ᵹeðæhte idelnisse. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Int. 21/2 [He] set ofer assales fola. c1275Passion our Lord 562 in O.E. Misc. 53 Þe on set at þe heuede. 13..Cursor M. 16025 He sett vte-ouer þam. 1340Ayenb. 96 Þer he zet, ase zayþ þet godspel. c1400Gamelyn 790 (Lansd., etc.), Whan þe Iustice sette. 14..Sc. Leg. Saints xxix. (Placidas) 876 Ȝistyrday in myn In as I set.
(β) 1, 3 sæt (1 sætt), 3 seat; 2– sat, 3–8 satt, 4–6 satte. Also 2nd pers. 6 sattest, 7 satst, sat'st.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxv. §7 Se hearpere..sæt on ðæm muntum. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 101 He sat ofte and tahte wisdom. c1205Lay. 2960 Þer he on æðelen seat. Ibid. 3530 Þe swain sæt at hire fæit. a1352Minot Poems ix. 35 When sir Dauid..satt on his stede. 1390Gower Conf. vii. 2282 He satte him thanne doun. c1450Merlin xiv. 226 The kynge..satte stille. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xxiii. 41 Thou sattest vpon a goodly bed. 1579Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. III. 241 [He] satt doun upoun the ground. 1667Milton P.L. i. 21 Thou..Dove-like satst brooding. 1676Hobbes Iliad i. 101 This said, he sat.
(γ) (2nd pers. 1 sæte, 3 sete, 4 seete,) 4–5 sete, 4 seete, 4, 9 dial. seet.
c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) xlix. 21 Þu sæte onᵹean þinne broþor. a1225Ancr. R. 238 Ich slepte, & tu sete biuoren me. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1171 He sete on Salamones solie. 1382Wyclif Ecclus. xxxi. 21 If in the myddel of manye thou seete. c1400Destr. Troy 11109 Yet sadly ho sete. 1446Lydg. Nightingale Poems i. 97 She..seet in myddes of the tre. 1886Cheshire Gloss. 306 Seet, perf. tense of sit.
(δ) 4–5 saat (5 saate); 4 (5 Sc.) sait, saitt; 4– sate. Also 2nd pers. 7, 9 satest.
13..Cursor M. 2768 [He] ras fra þen [v.r. þar] he sate. Ibid. 8296 Þar he sait an. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 339 A ravoun sat [v.r. saat] uppon þe riȝht schulder of Valerius. c140026 Pol. Poems xxvi. 9 Oon byrde..sate on a brere. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 168 He..saate in Iugement. 1611Bible Gen. xix. 1 Lot sate in the gate of Sodome. ― Ezek. xxiii. 41 Thou..satest vpon a stately bedde. 1761Gray Odin 18 By the moss-grown pile he sate. 1876Black Madcap Violet xxxix, She sate in a corner of the..waiting room. 1885–94R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Oct. xiii, Thou..Satest athirst.
(ε) 5 sote, 8–9 dial. sot (9 zot).
c1400Destr. Troy 8266 Wayueronde he sote. a1800Pegge Anecd. Eng. Lang. (1814) 73 London... Sot, for sat. 1843–in Eng. Dial. Dict., Sot, zot (Som., Dev.). 1861Dickens Gt. Expect. ii, She sot down, said Joe.
b. pl. (α) 1 sæton, -un, 2–3 sæten (3 -enn); 1 setun, 1, 5 seton, 3–5 seten, 4–5 setyn, 4 seeten, sieten.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxvii. §1 Þær nane oðre an ne sæton. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John xx. 12 Tuoeᵹe engles..seton [etc.]. c975Rushw. Gosp. Mark iii. 34 Ðaðe vtan ymb heop his setun. c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) lxviii. 12 Ealle þa him sæton sundor. c1200Ormin 15560 Menn att bordess sætenn þær. a1225Ancr. R. 258 Unneaðe his moder & Joseph seten þeron. c1320R. Brunne Medit. 1139 Þy peple..Whych setyn yn derkenes. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 190 [They] seeten so til Euensong. 1390Gower Conf. iii. 1809 Thei sieten alle stille. c1420Chron. Vilod. 3115 Hurre sustren..setone by-sydus herre þo. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 4612 Wher as they setyn on by on. c1450Merlin xiv. 225 The knyghtes..seten..at table.
(β) 3–4 sete, 4 seete, siete, 8 dial. seet; also 7 sitt.
c1205Lay. 22767 Seoððen sete þa eorles. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2777 Þe maistres sete stille ynou. 1390Gower Conf. v. 3339 Ther they siete and spieke. Ibid. vi. 1174 Tofore his oghne bord thei seete. c1400Gamelyn 681 (Harl.), As thei sete and eeten. 1688in 11th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. VII. 109 The..Jury..sitt upp all night about it. 1790Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. (1821) 35 In com thor sougers an seet dawn.
(γ) 4–5 saten, satyn, 5 soten; 4– sate, 4 saite, 5 Sc. sait.
These forms possibly represent ON. sátu.
13..Cursor M. 17845 Sundri þai þam fra oþer saite [v.r. sate]. c1400Gamelyn 476 Þe grete lordes þat saten in hall. 14..Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 1102 Till [= while] þat þai sait at þe burd. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 343 Bees come and sate on the lippes of Plato. c1450Gesta Roman. xcii. 420 (Add. MS.), Such ij{ddd}satyn, and dronkyn. 1451J. Capgrave St. Gilbert 70 On-to hem whech soten aboute him. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utopia i. (1895) 114 We came..and sate vs downe.
(δ) 5 satten, satte.
c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5435 No man list To speke a word, but satten stil. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 66 Many flyes satte vpon the soores.
6. pa. subj. 1 sæte, 3–4 sete.
971Blickl. Hom. 17 Rihtlic þæt wæs þæt se blinda..sæte wædliende. c1220Bestiary 504 Ðat it..sete one ðe se sond. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4060 Þei ech of vs sete al day. c1350Will. Palerne 1622 Þeiȝh i sete euer.
7. pa. pple. (α) 1 ᵹeseten, 3 iseten, 2, 5 seten, 4–5 setun, 5 setyn, 5–6 setten; 3–4 isete, 4–5 sete.
c925O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 922, Þæt folc..þe on Mercna lande ᵹeseten wæs. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 103 Ariseð þanne ȝe hauen seten. c1205Lay. 18532 Þa heo weoren alle iseten [c 1275 isete]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 415 In a tyme he hadde i-sete þere. 1388Wyclif Ecclus. xxxi. 21 If thou hast sete in the myddis. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) xvii, This xvi. weke I haue setyn here. c1481Caxton Dialogues 45 Randolf..hath seten..xxx. yere. 15..Adam Bel 527 in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 161 They had not setten but a whyle. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 21 b, He had muche rather have setten still.
(β) 4 siten, syten, sytyn; 4– sitten, 5 sitton, 6 (9) Sc. sittin (9 Sc. sutten); 5–6 sytten, 5 -yn.
The type sitten was very commonly used by good writers down to the early part of the 19th cent., but has now in ordinary use been displaced by sat.
13..Cursor M. 11665 Quen sco had sitten [v.r. siten, syten] þar a wei. a1340Hampole Psalter cxxvi. 3 Rysis eftire þat ȝe hafe sytyn. c1400Destr. Troy 12222 The sure knightes Hade sitton here. 1470–85Malory Arthur iii. ii. 101 The knyghtes names that had sytten therin. 1526Tindale Rev. iii. 21 Evyn as I..have sytten with my father. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 189 Nocht weil sittin doune in the Impire. 1644Digby Nat. Bodies xxviii. §7. 253 Strangers haue sitten by him. 1787Burns Let. to W. Nicol 1 June, I'm sitten down here. 1829Landor Imag. Conv., Diogenes & Plato Wks. 1853 I. 467/2 If they had always sitten with their hands before them. 1860Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. ciii. III. 8 One who might be comfortably sitten down with.
(γ) 4 satte, 6–7 satt, 6– sat.
Sot is also common in dialects (see E.D.D.).
c1375Cursor M. 13491 (Fairf.), Doun I walde þe folk ware satte. 1576Gascoigne Poems (1869) II. 269 Had she satt in feeld. 1665Hatton Corr. (Camden) 48 The King has satt..at a Councell of Warr. 1711Addison Spect. No. 122 ⁋6 The Court was sat before Sir Roger came. 1779Mirror No. 60, After having sat a considerable time. 1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xxxiii, Where he had sat when he was a..boy.
(δ) 6– sate.
1532Tindale Expos. Matt. (? 1550) 34 b, As thogh God had sate and eat..wyth them. 1611Bible Ps. xxvi. 4, I haue not sate with vaine persons. 1647Cowley Mistr., The Gazers ii, We have both sate gazing. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 3 Being all sate down, we fell a talking. 1803Edwin II. i. 12 Where..Hermon and his friend were sate. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair vi, She had sate by him.
(ε) 6 sytt, sitt, 6–7 sitte, 6–8 (9 dial.) sit.
1528in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. I. 284 To have sit down. 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. (1556) 145 After he had sitte a good space. 1565Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 81 When..the kinge and the..bishop were sitt doune. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 327 Hauing sit enthronized three daies. 1662Hickeringill Apol. Distressed Innoc. Wks. 1716 I. 288 The better for being sit upon. 1721Wodrow Hist. Suff. Ch. Scot. (1830) III. 109 He..had sit down in a fur. 1888Sheffield Gloss. 216 That milk has sit.
B. Signification.
I. intr.
1. a. Of persons: To be or remain in that posture in which the weight of the body rests upon the posteriors; to be seated.
Beowulf 500 Hunferð maþelode..Þe æt fotum sæt frean Scyldinga. c825Vesp. Psalter xlix. 20 Sittende wið broeðer ðinum ðu teldes. 971Blickl. Hom. 15 Þa sæt þær sum blind þearfa be ðon weᵹe. c1200Ormin 8933 Þære he satt to fraȝȝnenn hemm Off þeȝȝre bokess lare. c1250Gen. & Ex. 279 Ic wile..Min sete norð on heuene maken, And ðor ic wile sitten. 1340Ayenb. 266 Ich yzeȝ oure lhord iesu crist ine riȝt half zittinde. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 297 Þe senatoures arayed hem..and so þey seten in here hous. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xxi. (1859) 21 Sathanas satt for to wryte. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. xix. 65 As he satte so hym thoughte he herd a noyse of houndes. 1513Douglas æneid vi. ii. 42 Sibilla Cumane..Quhair as scho sat rummesing in hir caif. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xxi. 26 b, Within it was Victory sitting with two wings. 1673Ray Journ. Low C. 186 After that he hath sitten a while there..he is conducted..to his lodgings. 1757Gray Bard 45, I see them sit, they linger yet. 1779Mirror No. 26, The rest of the company sat nearer or more remote from him according to their respective ranks. 1824Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 30 It is a beautiful brook, and one that Walton himself might have sitten by and loved. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xi. III. 94 The clause which permitted scrupulous persons to communicate sitting. 1874Blackie Self-Cult. 41 A man may think as well standing as sitting, often not a little better.
fig.1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 346 [I do not believe] that they sitte nerer his knee, or foote stoole, then other penitent sinners doe. 1632Milton Penseroso 40 Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes. 1747Gray Ode Favourite Cat 28 Malignant Fate sat by, and smil'd. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. i, Venice sate in state, throned on her hundred isles. 1856Aird Poet. Wks. 307 Beneath her branchless palm must Judah sit.
b. Const. on or upon. Also fig. to sit on the or one's throne, to reign.
Beowulf 286 Weard maþelode, ðær on wicge sæt. c888K. ælfred Boeth. iv, Sittað manfulle on heahsetlum, & haliᵹe under heora fotum þrycað. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1079, Se cyng..wearð þær ᵹewundod, & his hors ofslaᵹen þe he on sæt. c1200Ormin 5807 Þær he satt onn hiss sæte. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 235 Þe ston þat ich op-on sitte. 1375Barbour Bruce x. 608 Thair ane place thai fand so braid, That thai mycht syt on anerly. a1450Hoccleve Min. Poems 2/75 O thynke how..on my knee Thow sat. 1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 18 He satte vpon his hammes. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 305 He cutte the benche yt Darius had sitten on. 1613R. Harcourt Voy. Guiana 41 This Idole is fashioned like a man sitting vpon his heeles, holding open his knees. c1670Hobbes Dial. Com. Laws (1681) 65 That in this court the Kings of the Realm have sitten on the high bench. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) VIII. xix. 276 After he had sitten 24 years on the throne. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 609 A stone, on which..Telamon sat to view the Salaminian ships. 1855Smedley Occult Sciences 226 Although the Christian sybils..no longer sat upon a tripod.
c. Const. in (a seat, throne, saddle, etc.).
a1300Cursor M. 8540 Salamon Was king sittand in his fader tron. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 131 Quhen at he suld sit in sege of maieste. a1400–50Alexander 482 As he sat in his sete softly by his qwene. c1420Avow. Arth. xiv, The king in his sadul sete. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 3 Whiche sawe..a persone syttyng in the trone of god. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 26 Like silly Beggars..sitting in the Stockes. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 215 The said Heralds..presented themselves before Charles, who sate in an high Throne. 1672–5T. Comber Comp. Temple (1702) 529 They would not have sitten any longer in their Thrones than the Pope pleased. 1754in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 166 Persons who rent seats..after they quitt sitting in them. 1893Hodges Elem. Photogr. 112 The chair in which he sits.
d. spec. Used of persons seated (usually at a table) for the purpose of, or while engaged in, eating, drinking, gaming, etc. (Cf. 2 a.)
a1300Havelok 2098 Betere is i go miself, and se, Hweþer he sitten nou, and wesseylen. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. vi. 265 Sitte nouȝt to longe. Arise vp ar appetit haue eten his fulle. 1494in Ordin. Household (1790) 116 And the Kinge sitt in the chamber, that the board must bee on the left hand;..and at the end must the Bishoppe sitt. 1553Brende Q. Curtius X viij, Wyth whom when he had sitten eating awhile, he departed from them out of the feast. 1577F. de Lisle's Legendarie I vj, The Kinge of Spaines embassador slacked his comming to y⊇ Council, because he disdained to sit vnder y⊇ French embassador. 1597[see salt n.1 7 b]. 1605Hist. T. Stukeley A 3 b, Ber Lady we haue sitten well my host, 'tis one a clock. 1791Burns Tam o'Shanter 24 That..ilka melder, wi' the miller, Thou sat as lang as thou had siller. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Man of Many Fr. II. 2 Without..recollecting that he had described himself..as engaged to a party likely to sit late. 1845W. H. G. Kingston Lusitanian Sk. xxiii. II. 145 We sat but a short time after the hostess and her daughters had retired.
e. ellipt. To sit up (see 25 b).
1852Thackeray Esmond i. i, Little Trix was promised to sit to supper that night.
f. To sit down in a public place as a form of protest; to take part in a sit-in.
1961Daily Tel. 21 Oct. 7/1 A tailor..was yesterday preparing to ‘sit’ for nine years, if necessary, in the path of a {pstlg}1,500,000 redevelopment scheme. 1963G. Butler Coffin for Baby iii. 49 My boy said to me this morning: Shall I sit or shan't I? You must do as your conscience tells you, I said. 1966Wodehouse Plum Pie v. 121 Every now and then we march from Aldermaston, protesting like a ton of bricks... And then we sit a good deal. 1970P. Laurie Scotland Yard x. 259 The demonstrators..could ‘sit’ as long as they liked.
g. To baby-sit.
1966J. Gloag Sentence of Life xxiii. 192 He wondered if Willy would be able to get Mrs Hillman in to sit. Friday was a bad night. 1968J. Updike Couples iii. 247 It was easier for the Saltzes to leave Bernard, who stays up forever reading anyway, to sit for his brother. 1975M. Bradbury History Man vii. 121 I'll have to get a sitter... I shouldn't have any trouble finding someone to sit. One of the students.
2. With prepositional phrases denoting the occupation of the person while seated:
a. With at (table, meat, a meal, etc.).
c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. ix. 9 Ᵹesæh monnu sittende æt ᵹæflaes monunᵹe. c1000ælfric Exodus xi. 5 Oð þære wylne frumcennedan sunu, þæt sitt æt þære cweornan. c1205Lay. 13460 He uondede heom mid worde alse heo seten [c 1275 sete] at borde. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1215 Þer after hii sete at hor mete, wiþ gret nobleie echon. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1763 Vche haþel..Seten at her soper & songen þer-after. 1382Wyclif Luke vii. 37 Jhesu hadde sete at the mete in the hous of the Pharisee. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iii. ix. 55 They hadde none other lust but al day syt at the table. 1495Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 22 §4 Laborers..longe sitting at ther brekfast at ther dyner and nonemete. 1535Coverdale Tobit ix, He founde Tobias syttinge at y⊇ table. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 819 When we had sitten at supper untill it was two houres. 1710Tatler No. 235 ⁋3 It was an unspeakable Pleasure to visit or sit at Meal in that Family. 1742Richardson Pamela III. 88 One Day, as she and I sat together, at our Needles. 1806Wordsw. Horn Egremont Castle 74 As good men do, he sate At his board by these surrounded. 1848Dickens Dombey xviii, They..sit long at meals, making much of their meat and drink. 1880[see meat n. 4 b].
b. With to.
1382Wyclif Luke ix. 14 Make hem to sitte to mete. 1625in Ellis Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 132 One that hath already been tryed in transcribing of manuscripts, and will sitt close to worke. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 338 They could hardly sit to their Oars. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xviii. xiii, These two therefore sat stoutly to it [i.e. drinking] during the whole Evening. 1817W. Beloe Sexagenarian II. 218 He sat sturdily to work, and produced..an historical performance of several volumes.
c. With through.
1889J. L. Toole Reminisc. I. viii. 263 Quite different in its acceptance of fun or pathos from the audience that sits through the same piece the next night. 1932D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xix. 255 She sat on right through the programme, but when it came to God Save the King, she chucked it. 1981L. Deighton XPD xxix. 236 Sir Sydney..gallantly sat through another half-hour of finer points of script editing.
3. a. With complement denoting the manner (or place) of sitting (on a seat, etc., or on horseback).
c1205Lay. 25121 Summe heo sæten stille mucle ane stunde. a1225Ancr. R. 266 Nule he nout..wenden ouer, auh wule sitten ful ueste. c1400Destr. Troy 10151 He wauerit þerwith, & weikly he sete. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. 196 The magnificence Of him that hiest In the hevin sitt. 1530Palsgr. 719/1, I syt hyest, or uppermoste at a table. 1620Middleton Chaste Maid (1630) 34 Sit you all merry, Ladies. 1662J. Wilson Cheats i. iii, A Woman need not be asham'd to sit Jig by Joule, with the best of the Parish. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 72 They look very well, and sit as close as if they were nailed to the Horse. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 565 The poor Beast..was no more to be governed by his Rider, tho' the Fellow sat well enough too. 1754J. Shebbeare Matrimony (1766) II. 158, I sha'n't dare to sit cross-legg'd for you without offence. 1791–3Spirit Public Jrnls. (1799) I. 74 A fat Whitechapel butcher, seated on the centre of the front bench... The butcher sat very back. 1850Thackeray Pendennis xl, Old Colchicum..sitting bodkin between Mademoiselle Coralie and her mother.
b. With adj. or advb. complement in figurative phrases (see quots. and the complementary words). to sit pretty: see pretty adv. 2 a; to sit tight: see tight adv. 2 b, etc.
1427Act. Privy Council III. 232 Þat..þei [sc. lords of the Council] wolde sit upright and entende hooly to.. þe goode of þe King and of his land. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1638) 315 The Mogull oft threatens to dethrone him; yet he sits close and keeps his owne. 1694Penn Rise & Progr. Quakers vi. 116 To shew his Disciples it was Good to be Solitary, and sit loose to the World. 1833G. S. Faber Recapit. Apostasy 127 Striving..to sit light to all sublunary matters. 1844Thackeray Contrib. to Punch Wks. 1900 VI. 54, I wish to sit as soft as I can in this life. 1896Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign i, They never reckoned that..they would sit tight and strike out hard.
c. In other figurative phrases (see quots. and the various ns.). to sit at the feet of (a person), to be the disciple or pupil of (a teacher); to sit on one's hands, (a) U.S. colloq., to withhold or be sparing of applause; (b) to be inactive.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 45 b, The Byshoppe, whiche as the master of a shyppe sitteth watching at the Healme. c1580J. Hooker Life Sir P. Carew (ed. Maclean) 228 Oure enemyes, that have threatened to sitt on my skirts. 1625Massinger New Way iii. iii, She..sits on thorns till she be private with him. 1632― City Madam iv. i, He shall not Sit long on Penniless-Bench. 1652in Victoria Hist. Dorset (1908) II. 252 [To] pay v s. or sitt vi houres by the heeles. 1717Prior Alma i. 230 Poor Alma sits between two Stools. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 23 Between..the dearth of good masters, and a fashionable reputation, Jervas sat at the top of his profession. 1885H. Harland As it was Written 153, I had sat on pins during the inquisition. 1887Cornh. Mag. June 626 Those who sit ‘on the fence’—men with impartial minds, who wait to see..‘how the cat will jump’.
1535Bible (Coverdale) Luke x., Mary..sat hir downe at Iesus fete, and herkened vnto his worde. 1611Ibid. (A.V.) Luke x. 39 Mary..also sate at Iesus feet, and heard his word. 1633D. Rogers Treat. of Sacr. ii. 79 We have sitten at the feet of Christ attentively while we heard. 1907Kipling Sons of Martha, They sit at the Feet, and they hear The Word—they see how truly the Promise runs. 1926G. M. Trevelyan Hist. England v. iii. 557 They [sc. the Whigs] had sat at the feet of Edmund Burke. 1952G. Sarton Hist. Sci. i. xxi. 547 He came to Athens to sit at Plato's feet. 1971Nature 5 Mar. 2/2 It is clear that there are far more universities per square mile in Britain than are necessary to enable students to sit at the feet of some teacher or other.
1926E. Ferber Show Boat vi. 106 Well, they were sitting on their hands to-night, all right. Seemed they never would warm up. 1948Newsweek 16 July 19/1 Listlessly, the convention sat on its hands at all mentions of Mr. Truman in the opening speeches. 1959Listener 1 Jan. 4/1 This helped to reduce the number of constituency associations, who had to be persuaded by MacDonald or Gladstone to sit on their hands or, worse still, toil for their ally. 1961IUD Digest Fall 74/1 Organized labour can ill afford to sit on its hands. 1972Guardian 19 May 12/3 Opposition MPs who only yesterday sat on their hands to let Herr Brandt's Ostpolitik treaties through the Bundestag were back on their feet again this morning. 1976New Yorker 8 Mar. 57/1 ‘Don't clap too hard—it's a very old building,’ he cautions the audience, which is sitting on its hands. 1979M. A. Sharp Sunflower xvi. 148, I should have learned something by now. I haven't exactly been sitting on my hands.
4. a. To occupy a seat in the capacity of a judge or with some administrative function.
to sit in judgement: see judgement 1 b.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 19 Mið ðy sæt..he fore hehsedle. c1000ælfric Exod. xviii. 13 Þiᵹ oðre dæȥe sæt Moises, þæt he wolde deman þam folce. c1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 5636 Haly men and parfit, Þat with hym in dome þan sal sitt, And wyth hym deme. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 96 Some..in stede of stuwardes sytten and demen. c1400Gamelyn 790 [He] him be-hette Þat he wolde be redy whan þe Iustice sette. 1507in Leadam Sel. Cases Star Chamber (Selden) 257 He..syttith as stuard..and holdith theyre Courtes. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V, 75 A greate assemble..in the whiche the two kynges sat as judges. 1681Wood Life 17 Aug., The judges..went to the Guildhall yard where they sate from 9 to 12. 1835Penny Cycl. III. 376 When the judges of each court sit together upon their several benches. 1896Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 690/1 The summons was heard by the registrar, sitting as Deputy Chancellor.
b. To occupy an episcopal, or the papal, see.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 151 Gregorie þe sixte, first called Gracianus, after Benet, sat almost foure ȝere. c1425Wyntoun Orig. Cron. v. 4535 Qwhen Anastace þe pope was dede, Symacus sat in til his stede Fifteyn ȝhere. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 6531 Tumbertus..Was Eata successour; he sat in hexham ȝeres thre. 1579Fulke Confut. Sanders 540 Peter is sayd first to haue sit at Antioche. 1586J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 128 Clement 5 then sitting in his papacy. 1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 132 When he had sitten fourty yeares in his Bishopricke. 1690–1Wood Life 1 Feb., Pope Ottoboni..died (after he had sate 16 months). a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 13 It was dignify'd with a Bishop's See. In which sometimes sate Severian. 1862C. Wordsw. Misc. (1879) I. 257 The Roman Bishop of that name, who sate in the episcopal see from a.d. 218 to 223.
c. To have a seat in, be a member of, a council or legislative assembly. Also const. for (a constituency).
1382Wyclif Jer. xv. 17, I sat not in counseil of pleieres. 1535Coverdale Jer. xxiii. 16 For who hath sytten in the councell of the Lorde? 1545Brinklow Compl. 3 b, Them that sytte in the Parlament. 1645Wither Vox Pacifica 195 Since he hath sitten in this Parlament. 1675Hobbes Odyss. iv. 268 Countries I have seen Many; and oft with Heroes in my life In Councels sitten. 1705–6Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) VI. 9 The clause..about officers sitting in parliament after the queens death. 1828W. Field Mem. Dr. Parr II. 305 The third..had sitten in eleven successive parliaments. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 203 Francis Plowden, the Commissioner of Revenue, who sate for Bannow. 1880Trollope Duke's Children I. v. 55 You used to sit for Silverbridge.
5. Of a legislative or other assembly: To hold a session; to be engaged in the transaction of business.
1518Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 298 Paid for brede and drynke at the parsonage at syttyng vppon þe Avdytt for the newe byldyng. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 924/1 We the aforesaid rector and doctors haue..sitten to dispute these questions. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 57 When the counsell hath sitten seauen or eight houres, the Bassa visier maketh true relation to the Prince, of all that hath bene handled. 16393rd Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 78/1 If the King..go about to break their Parliament, I hear they are resolved to sit without his Majesty's leave. 1712in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1886) II. 6 That the..town's chest be now..inspected, sitting this Councill. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. lxiv. 725 A convocation..had usually sitten at the same time with the parliament. 1841Penny Cycl. XXI. 177/1 There is also a chief secretary for Ireland, resident in Dublin (except when parliament is sitting). 1863H. Cox Instit. i. ix. 136 In the House of Lords the presence of three members is sufficient to enable the House to sit.
6. a. To place oneself in a position for having one's portrait painted or for being photographed. Also const. for (one's portrait), to (a painter, etc.).
1538Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 122 It may please you..to sit so longe..that a seruaunt of the kinges highnes..may take your phisionomie. 1584Lyly Alex. & Camp. iv. ii, The misfortune I had with your picture wil put you to some paines to sitte againe to be painted. 1666Pepys Diary 17 Mar., This day I began to sit; and he will make me, I think, a very fine picture. a1700Evelyn Diary 28 June 1641, I..sate to one Vanderborcht for my picture in oyle. 1742Young Nt. Th. vi. 53 Who can take Death's portrait true? The tyrant never sat. 1840Thackeray Paris Sk.-bk. I. 115 Simon..painted portraits to admiration, only nobody came to sit to him. 1894Liddon Life Pusey I. Pref. p. x, Dr. Pusey persistently refused to sit for this portrait.
b. To serve as a model for a painting or a character in a novel. Also fig.
1673[R. Leigh] Transp. Reh. 35 Imagining, as he well might, that he had sat for the Coffee-house Sign. 1762Ann. Reg. ii. 18 Mr. Young, a learned..friend of..Fielding's, sat for parson Adams. 1784Cowper Task iv. 526 Airy dreams Sat for the picture; and the poet's hand..Impos'd a gay delirium for a truth.
c. To present oneself for examination, etc. (also const. for); to be a candidate for a fellowship.
The latter is a special Cambridge use; at Oxford one is said to stand for a fellowship.
1830S. Butler in Life I. 371 Tom will be at Cambridge to sit for a fellowship at St. John's. Ibid., I had only two men to sit at the Classical Tripos. 1929R. Graves Goodbye to all That xxvii. 362 My tutor..warned me that I must on no account disparage the eighteenth century when I sat for my final examination. 1955Times 30 June 6/5 Pupils sitting for the examination for entry to secondary schools. 1963R. Pedley Comprehensive School i. 14 In some of the 3900 ‘modern’ schools in England and Wales it is possible for the cleverer pupils to sit for GCE at ordinary level. 1968G. Maxwell Raven seek thy Brother viii. 102, I appealed to my guardian to be allowed to retire..from the scene on the grounds of ill-health... The refusal was absolute..; I was to sit for my degree, no matter what the outcome. 1980Radio Times 1–7 Mar. 16/4 It is possible to take an A-level without having sat for the O-level.
7. a. To be, to continue or remain, in a certain state. Now rare or Obs.
In most cases with suggestion of the literal sense.
c825Vesp. Psalter cvi. 10 Sittende in ðeostrum & scuan deaðes. a1000Genesis 2700 Ic þæs færes a on wenum sæt. a1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 103 Ðus sit man on his sinne, swo ich seid haue. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1239 Ðor sat his moder in sik and sor. c1375Cursor M. 15576 (Fairf.), Þ ou sal couer & confort ham þat sitis in sorou & site. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 198 As I seet in þis sorwe, I say how kynde passed. c1450Holland Howlat 22 Thus sat I in solace, sekerly and sure. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 30 Than we and tha sall sit in rest and peice. 1628Gaule Pract. The. (1629) 401 Had not our Sunne thus wisely prolonged his course, we had sit still in Darknesse. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 431 While Virtue, Valour, Wisdom sit in want.
b. With adjectival or other complement denoting the condition.
a1000Deor's Compl. 24 Sæt secᵹ moniᵹ sorᵹum ᵹebunden, wean on wenan. a1035Laws Cnut ii. lxxiii. (Liebermann) 360 Sitte ælc wuduwe werleas twelf-monað. a1250Prov. ælfred 378 in O.E. Misc. 124 Þanne myht þu sikerliche sely sytte. 1382Wyclif Lam. iii. 28 He shal sitte solitarie. c1400Destr. Troy 2265 Ye wetyn..Þat all Auffrike & Europe..Sittyn to hom subiecte. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1006 He was anker and sole satt,..And leued in lyf contemplatyue. 1530Palsgr. 719/1 Go to the warre who wyll, I wyll sytte styll. c1595Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 47 The Indians beinge suffred to sitt afterwarde at libertie. 1638W. Sclater Serm. Experim. 79 That people have now long sitten without a King. a1700Evelyn Diary 23 Sept. 1683, That the French King might the more easily swallow Flanders..whilst we sat unconcern'd. 1760Ann. Reg. i. 9 That haughty power was obliged to sit the impotent spectator of the ruin of her colonies. 1775Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 31 That he can sit secure in the enjoyment of inheritance. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 68 Plato has arrived at the time when men sit still and look on at life.
c. With appositive complement denoting the position or occupation of a person. Also fig.
c825Vesp. Psalter xxviii. 10 Siteð dryhten cyning in ecnisse. 1382Wyclif Isaiah xlvii. 8, I shal not sitte a widewe. ― Rev. xviii. 7 In hir herte she seith, I sitte a queen. 1614Raleigh Hist. World iv. iii. §3. 181 Having sitten Viceroy tenne yeeres. 1629H. Burton Babel no Bethel 124 It is Babylons voyce, Sedeo Regina, I sit a Queene. 1634Milton Comus 957 Night sits monarch yet in the mid sky. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 304 He sate bishop 19 years. 1715Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 62 Dr. Charlett sate Vice-Chancellor, and ordered y⊇ Sermon to be printed. 1784Cowper Task v. 877 Gods..that sit Amus'd spectators of this bustling stage. 1833Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. i. 103 Conscience sat mistress over the whole earth. 1859Reade Love me Little vii. (1868) 88 She was sitting sentinel till the carriage should arrive.
8. a. To have one's seat, quarters, or place; to abide, dwell, remain (in a place).
c900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 855, Her hæþne men ærest on Sceapiᵹe ofer winter sætun. c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xxi. 35 On allum ðaðe sittað ofer onsione all eorðes. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1036, Man ᵹerædde þa þæt ælfᵹifu..sæte on Winceastre. 1154Ibid. an. 1137, Sculdest þu neure finden man in tune sittende. 13..K. Alis. (Laud MS.) 1927 Bitwene tygre & Eufraten, Seten alle þise heþen men. c1380Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. I. 149 Hem were beter to sitten at home. a1400–50Alexander 4024 [They have] Nouthire cites in to sytt, cellis, nor na tounes. 1584Leycesters Commw. (1641) 23 If the good Lady had..used his helpe, shee should not have needed to have sitten so pensive at home. 1649Sclater Comm. Malachy (1650) 176 It had better for them, to have sitten by the flesh-pots and garlicke, and onyons of Egypt. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 56 Shall the rest..sit lingring here Heav'ns fugitives? 1721Kelly Sc. Prov. 194 It is hard to sit in Rome, and strive against the Pope.
fig.c1350Will. Palerne 446 He sittus in mi siȝt me þinkes euer-more. c1400Rom. Rose 2846 Y-wis, he sit so nere myn herte. To speke of him, at eve or morwe, It cureth me of al my sorwe. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xvii. v, The lady..who sits, indeed, very near my heart.
b. To be tenant of, to occupy, a house, farm, etc.; to remain during a lease; to continue a tenancy. Usually const. at (a certain rent), or with compl. Also, † to live at a certain rate of expense.
1598Shakes. Merry W. i. iii. 8, I sit at ten pounds a weeke. 1609W. M. Man in Moone (1849) 17 Marke how they will moane their own mischances, how they sit at an unmerciful rent. 1625Bacon Ess., Of Usury (Arb.) 542 As a Farmer cannot husband his Ground so well, if he sit at a great Rent. 1713in N. & Q. 9th Ser. X. 257/1 The Schoolmistress to sit Rent free. 1751Smollett Per. Pic. xci, She found herself..incapable..of keeping the farm, unless he would..allow her to sit free for a twelvemonth. 1811Scott in Lockhart (1837) II. xi. 356, I now sit a tenant at will under a heavy rent. 1844W. Cross Disruption xxxviii. (E.D.D.), Sit wha like, I'll flitt. 188319th Cent. Sept. 439 The ryots..claim at times to sit at rates that have long been obsolete.
Prov.1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 9 Their Tenants..haue taken vp this Prouerbe, Botch and sit, Build and flit.
9.
†a. To lie in wait or in ambush. Obs.
c825Vesp. Psalter ix. 29 [He] siteð in searwum mid ðæm weoliᵹum. a1225Ancr. R. 332 Tristre is þer me sit mid þe greahundes forte kepen þe hearde. a1340Hampole Psalter ix. 30 He sittis in waitis wiþ þe riche in hidels. 1382Wyclif Josh. viii. 9 Thei wenten to the place of the busshement, and thei seten betwixe Bethel and Hay.
b. To remain at a siege. Cf. 23 c (b).
c900O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 878, He..him æfter rad oþ þæt ᵹeweorc, & þær sæt xiiii niht. a1000Boeth. Metr. xxvi. 16 Aulixes mid an hund scipa lædde ofer laᵹustream; sæt longe ðær tyn winter full. 1802James Milit. Dict. s.v., To sit before a fortified place; to lie encamped for the purpose of besieging it.
10. a. Of birds: To perch or roost; also, to rest the body on the ground or other surface.
a1000Phœnix 208 Þær se wilda fuᵹel..siteð siþes fus. a1000Genesis 2159 Ac nefuᵹlas under beorhhleoþum blodiᵹ sittað. c1205Lay. 2827 An muchel ærn spec a þon castle þer he set. c1250Owl & Night. 89 Þu sittest a day and flyhst a niht. 13..Coer de L. 465 (W.), On hys crest sat a raven swart. 1446Lydg. Nightingale Poems i. 97 She a-lyght Ande singynge seet in myddes of the tre. 1486Bk. St. Albans d ij b, All maner of fowlys that syt in trees. 15..in Dunbar's Poems (S.T.S.) App. ii. 12 That bird..satt, & tald me hir intent. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 748 The birds sit as thicke, as stones lie in a Paued street. 1696Tate & Brady Ps. cii. 6 Like an Owl that sits all day On barren Trees. 1784Cowper Task vi. 308 The stock⁓dove..Sits cooing in the pine-tree. 1803Gaz. Scotl. s.v. Orkney Islands, The cliffs on which the birds are sitting. 1821–2Shelley Chas. I, v. 4 A widow bird sate mourning Upon a wintry bough. 1901Westm. Gaz. 30 Aug. 1/3 The coveys have grown so wild..that they will not sit to setters.
b. To take up or continue in the posture necessary for the hatching of eggs. Also const. on.
In older use freq. to sit abrood: see abrood adv.
1483Cath. Angl. 341/2 To Sytt on eggis, jncubare. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §146 All hole-footed fowles wyll sytte a moneth. 16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. ii. 173 An old goose that sits hatching vp those eggs. 1658tr. Porta's Nat. Magic ii. xvii. 50 Let them [eggs] be sitten upon, their due time [etc.]. 1759R. Brown Compl. Farm. 71 A hen sits twenty days. 1828Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 303 Until the female begins to sit, the male is frequently heard to make a singular kind of noise. 1855D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. 108 If a hen is really determined to sit, it is useless..to attempt to divert her from her object.
transf.1608Topsell Serpents (1658) 597 The Serpent having laid her Egge sitteth upon them to hatch them at several times.
fig.1667Milton P.L. i. 21 Thou..Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss And mad'st it pregnant. 1818Scott Rob Roy xxxv, Civil war is like a cockatrice;—we have sitten hatching the egg that held it for ten years.
11. Of animals: To rest the body in a manner analogous to that of a seated person.
c1250Owl & Night. 86 Þe were icundere to one frogge Þat sit at Mulne vnder cogge. 13..Pains of Hell (Vernon MS.) 217 Wormes and serpentes on hem seeten. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4178 ‘Þe Dan’ he says ‘sal þe nedder be Sitand in þe way als men sal se’. c1420Anturs of Arth. x. (Thornton MS.), Cerkelytt withe serpentes, þat satt by hir sydes. 1486Bk. St. Albans F vij b, A Cony sittyng. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §18 The sheepe..wyll folowe those stakes, as he flytteth them, and syt by them. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 352 Others on the grass Coucht, and now fild with pasture gazing sat. Ibid. v. 25 How the Bee Sits on the Bloom. 1711Addison Spect. No. 115 ⁋6 A Hare is not yet safe that Sits within ten Miles of his House. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports i. ii. vi. 139 It is very desirable to find the hare sitting, because she may otherwise sit so close as to be ‘chopped’.
fig.1749Fielding Tom Jones v. x, This alone must have abundantly satisfied Jones that he was (to use the language of sportsmen) found sitting.
12. To rest the body on the knees; to be in a kneeling posture. Cf. 19. Obs. exc. dial.
c893K. ælfred Oros. iii. ix. 134 Þeh þe hie hiene meðiᵹne on cneowum sittende metten. a1000Daniel 180 Þa hie for þam cumble on cneowum sæton. c1275Passion our Lord 106 in O.E. Misc. 40 He hit bitauhte iudas, þat alle hit myhte iseo, Þer he wes bivoren him and set on his kneo. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Mark) 173 He..prayt for þam..& sad, sittand one his kne [etc.]. 1390Gower Conf. I. 155 This Maiden, which sat on hire knes Tofore the king. c1440Alph. Tales 15 As he satt in his prayers, hym þoght [etc.]. 1518in Yorks. Arch. Trans. II. 381, iij pure women to sit at y⊇ herse & pray. 1593in J. Morris Troubles Cath. Forefathers (1877) 155 All the time he was before them, the President forced him to sit upon his knees. c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (Bann. Club) 120 He sitting vpon his knees before hir, keping a gret grauite. 1652Boate Nat. Hist. Ireland (1860) 125 On that dry place where the mud is poured forth sit certain women upon their knees. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxxii, While he sat on his knees before me, mopping and mowing. 1868in Myrc's Instr. Par. Priests 74 In Durham sitting on the knees is an expression still used for kneeling.
II.
13. a. Of things: To have place or location; to be situated.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §13 Þæt leohte fyr..up ᵹewit, & sio hefiᵹe eorðe sit þær niðere. c900Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 245 Þæt ᵹetacnað, þæt seo rihtᵹewittuᵹe sawl siteð on þam lichaman. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 129, I..sauh þe sonne sitte souþ euene þat tyme. c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §33 The same wyse maistou sen..wheither the sterre sitte est or west or north. c1400Mandeville (1839) i. 7 The evylle Town, that sytt toward the ende of Hungarye. c1425Crafte Nombrynge (E.E.T.S.) 23 Loke quere sittes 2 in þe lyft side in þe first rewe. c1440Astron. Cal. (MS. Ashm. 391), A table..which will shewe you in what signe þe moone sitteþ euery day. 1504Bury Wills (Camden) 102 The which tenement syttyth and lyyth by y⊇ tenement of John Clerk. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xxii. 54 The forkit Clauer besyde the Croce that sittis. 1812New Bot. Garden I. 29 The involucre..sits close to the flower. 1867A. J. Wilson Vashti xx, In the room where the coffin sat wreathed with flowers. 1879Stevenson Trav. Donkey (1886) 179 The village of Cocurès, sitting among vineyards and meadows. 1976M. Machlin Pipeline liii. 526 Occasionally a guard was left when equipment sat in the field, but now it was lunch hour. 1977Oxford Jrnl. 10 June 1/5 There were a dozen eggs still sitting on the front porch and the dustbin sat at the back of the house where the binmen had left it. 1978Sci. Amer. May 65/2 The idea of an exploding clump of matter sitting somewhere in space offers no natural way to account for the existence of the cosmic background radiation.
fig.1632Milton Penseroso 40 Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 93 That regardlessness for trifles which then sat at my heart. 1793Burns Young Jessie 13 Love sits in her smile, like a wizard ensnaring. 1821–2Shelley Chas. I, ii. 34 Mark you what spirit sits in St. John's eyes?
b. To be situated, to rest or lie, to be supported, on or upon something. Freq. fig.
971Blickl. Hom. 75 Swa seo hefiᵹe byrþen [of the tomb] siteþ on þæm deadan lichoman. a1023Wulfstan Hom. xxxiii. (1883) 162 Us godes yrre hetelice on sit. a1300Havelok 735 Þer sat is ship up-on þe sond. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vi. 11 An hundred of ampolles on his hat seeten. 1390Gower Conf. II. 23 Which Ring..where it on a finger sat [etc.]. 1494Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 23 The little Bone that sitteth upon the great Fin. 1619Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Malta iv. ii, Art thou a Knight? did ever on that sword The Christian cause sit nobly? 1676Hobbes Iliad ii. 20 That sleep all night upon his eyes should sit. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, A fatal paleness sat upon her cheek. 1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 114 Scarlet semi-globules sitting on the sides of the branches. 1820Scott Monast. xxxvii, Your Father and Abbot will not disgrace the mitre which sits upon his brow. 1853M. Arnold Sohrab & Rustum 666 Truth sits upon the lips of dying men. 1885Century Mag. XXIX. 880/2 A little three-legged trivet on which a tankard..might sit with live coals beneath.
c. With compl. denoting manner or position.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 188 It wole make hise heeris longe & make hem sitte faste. 1654Z. Coke Logick To Rdr., The numerous Tomes of the Times, which serve but..to make the world sit straight about you. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 55 The Ship sat upright. 1739C. Labelye Piers Westm. Bridge 30 We sunk the Caisson a second time, and found it to bed itself, or sit perfectly level upon the hard Gravel. 1878D. Kemp Man. Yacht & Boat Sailing 368/2 Sails are said to ‘sit’ well when they do not girt, pucker, belly, or shake. 1958Listener 28 Aug. 309/3 Slots must be cut in the bottom half of them [sc. the horizontal pieces] where they meet the posts, so that they will sit nicely. 1971Good Motoring Sept. 18/1 Where the 33 tended to hang out its back end on fast corners the 44 sat steadily on the road.
d. Of the wind: To blow from, be in, a particular quarter. Now only in fig. phrase.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. ii. 123 The winde sits faire for newes to go to Ireland, But none returnes. 1596Danett tr. Comines ii. xiv. 78, I wot not whether it were bicause the winde sat that way, or bicause we lodged vpon the riuer. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. 587 When the wind sitteth West, it is alwaies rain. a1654Selden Table-T. (Arb.) 32 A good Miller that knows how to grind which way soever the Wind sits. 1711Addison Spect. No. 10 ⁋5 By that Time they are pretty good Judges of the Weather, know which Way the Wind sits [etc.]. 1762Gentl. Mag. 137 The wind sat North.
fig.1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. iii. 102 That she should so dote on Signior Benedicke... Bene. Is't possible? sits the winde in that corner? 1605Chapman All Fools i. i, Sits the winde there? blowes there so calme a gale From a contemned and deserued anger? 1706S. Centlivre Basset-Table iv, Ha, Captain, how sits the wind between you and your mistress? 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xv, So soon as the Marquis's political agent found how the wind sat, he began [etc.]. 1834Whately in Life (1866) I. 243 The following straw may serve to show how the winds sits. 1893Stevenson Catriona vi, Is it so the wind sits?
†e. Of the tide: To set. Obs.—1
1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) I. 239 Shooting from shelf to shelf, as the tide sat.
14. In fig. phrases:
a. With nigh, near, close to, at, etc.: To affect one deeply.
c1402Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 18 My sekenes sat ay so nigh my herte. 1584B. R. tr. Herodotus 106 There befell unto him another mischiefe, that sate as neere hys skirtes as the death of his dilling. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. 394 Your Brothers death I know sits at your heart. 1611Speed Hist. of Gt. Brit. ix. iii. §19. 443 Whose sinnes beganne to sit so neere his heart..that hee sore repented him of the same. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. ii. 39 Of all my misfortunes, the greatest that ever befell mee, and which sits closest to my heart. 1713Addison Cato i. iv, When discontent sits heavy at my heart. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxx, The anguish and uncertainty which sat heavy at his heart.
b. To press or weigh (heavily, lightly, etc.) on or upon one. Also without const.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 280 (Q.), Woe doth the heauier sit, Where it perceiues it is but faintly borne. 1643Milton Divorce Wks. 1851 IV. 9 For no effect of tyranny can sit more heavy on the Common-wealth. 1697Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. (1703) ii. 182 These questions well-answered..will make a man's years sit easy upon him. 1729Butler Serm., Balaam 451 There must therefore be some method of making it sit a little easy upon their minds. 1759Sterne Tr. Shandy ii. xiv, To make reparation..for the insult he had given him, which sat still upon my father's mind. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. x, The restless haggard expression sat more heavily than ever on his face. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 196 Old age sits lightly upon you.
c. To lie (easily, etc.) on the stomach. Also without const., to be easily digested.
(a)1708W. King Cookery 19 You cannot imagine..how much easier they will sit upon your Stomach. 1773Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. iv. i, Good liquor will sit upon a good supper, but a good supper will not sit upon..my conscience. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) V. 572 Such preparations of iron as may sit easy on the stomach.
(b)1737Byrom Rem. (1856) II. i. 123 Had a cheesecake..by the way, which..did not sit so easy, being buttery. 1822–7Good Study Med. (1829) I. 187 A little toast and water alone..will often sit easy when nothing else will remain.
†15.
a. With dative of person: To affect (one) in a specified way; to distress, vex, grieve. Obs.
c1230Hali Meid. 7 To don al & drehen þat him likeð, ne sitte hit hire se uuele. c1375Cursor M. 24342 (Fairf.), Our sorowing..satte vs baþ in flesshe & bane. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iii. 154 Yf he fynde ȝow in defaute..Hit shal sitte ȝoure soules ful soure at þe laste. c1400Destr. Troy 2284 Sothely your suster sittes vs not so harde. c1470Henry Wallace vi. 24 Ȝeit he desyrd the thing that sat him sar. a1500Assembly Ladies 663 She felt gret displesaunce,..And no wonder; it sat her passing nere. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 269 In his aige that sat him than full soir. a1542Wyatt Poet. Wks. (1861) 24 But pray restore it mannerly,..For to lese it, it sitteth me near.
†b. To cost (one) so much. Obs. rare.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 48 We han a wyndowe a wirchyng wil sitten vs ful heigh. c142126 Pol. Poems 85 Mannys loue sat me so sore, Nas neuere bargayn derrere bouȝt.
16. Of clothes:
a. With dative: To fit or suit (a person, etc.). rare.
This sense and 17 are due to the influence of AF. seeir (mod.F. seoir).
a1300Cursor M. 15286 Wit a tuell he belted him His side sitand ful mete. a1764Lloyd Poet. Wks. (1774) II. 38 Suppose For once you wear the begger's clothes;..Bless me, they sit you to a hair. 1827Carlyle Germ. Rom. III. 129 Her morning-promenade dress of white muslin,..but, adds she, it will not sit her.
b. To fit (well, tightly, etc.). Freq. with preps. as about, on, to. Also fig.
1370Robt. Cicyle 287 Alle men wondurd fro whens he came, So welle hys rayment sate hym on. c1400Rom. Rose 2263 Poyntis and sleves be wel sittand, Right and streight upon the hand. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. i. 338 His ouer garment sat ouerthwartly. 1561Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer i. (1577) H ij, Her hose sittynge cleane to her legge. 1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. iii. §14 Which cloak sitteth no less fit on the back of their cause, than of the Anabaptists. 1602How Chuse Good Wife iii. iii, He is such a sloven, That nothing will sit handsome about him. 1607Dekker Northward Hoe ii. i, How sit our blew-coates on our backes. 1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., A Coat that sits close to the Body. 1819Scott Ivanhoe iii, A close dress of scarlet which sate tight to his body. 1851Eliza Cook's Jrnl. 19 July 177 Throwing also an occasional look down..his new Californian trowsers, seeing that they ‘sit’ well. 1884G. Allen Philistia I. 52 Now just turn round and show me how it sits behind.
c. fig. Of airs, opinions, practices, etc.
1614D. Dyke Myst. Self-deceiving 369 Let his gifts and graces be neuer so excellent, yet they sit but loose about him. 1728Vanbr. & Cibber Prov. Husb. ii. i, Lady Ara. Do you ever play at hazard, Clarinda? Clar. Never; I don't think it sits well upon women. 1786Francis the Philanthropist III. 79 He whose opinions..sat loose upon him, was always deemed a bad, and generally a weak, man. 1821Scott Kenilw. vii, Her little air of precision sits so well upon her. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xi. i. (1872) IV. 25 A light stoicism sits gracefully on him. 1885Spectator 25 July 970/2 The feudal Conservatism which sat so well upon him.
d. fig. Without compl.
1964G. C. Kunzle Parallel Bars ix. 410 Make certain that you can do an individual movement with perfect technique before you include it in the exercise. Then try it out in minor competitions until it ‘sits’. 1971B. Graham Spy Trap ii. 19 It was too pat, too smug, like a well-turned-out radio script. It didn't sit.
17.
†a. Usually impers. To suit; to be suitable, fitting, proper, or seemly. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 15558 Þei mette..To conseille þem, & to wyte How þat þyng best mighte site. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 404 But..I seye that yuele it sit To assaye a wyf whan þat it is no nede. 1390Gower Conf. I. 335 Yit sit it wel that thou eschuie That thou the Court noght overhaste. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. ix. 333 It bisemeth and it is sitting, and therfore it is to be doon. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Nov. 26 The Nightingale is souereigne of song, Before him sits the Titmose silent bee.
†b. Const. for, to, or with dative. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 1071, I am a kyng, it sit me noght to lye. 1390Gower Conf. I. 51 It sit a prest to be wel thewed. 14..in Hist. Coll. Cit. Lond. (Camden) 129 As hyt syttythe and semyþe so worthy a prynce and a pryncesse. c1420Wars Alexander 73 It sittez noȝte till an emperour..to lose his men þus. c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture 392 With pesyn & baken whan sesoun þer-to dothe sitt. 1530Palsgr. 719/2 It sytteth nat for your estate to weare so fyne furres.
c. With well as complement. Now dial. and poet.
a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 750 It sat hir wondir wel to synge. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 394 In spek wlispyt he sum deill; Bot that sat him rycht wondre weill. 1399Gower In Praise Peace 52 It sit hem wel to do pite and grace. 1426Acts Privy Council III. 183 My..lorde of Gloucestre wol as hit sitteth him wel..kepe & restreyne his meyne. 1846Brockett N.C. Gloss. (ed. 3) s.v., ‘It sits him well,’ of a pretentious person. 1878J. J. Aubertin tr. Camoens' Lusiads II. viii. lxiv. 129 With a proud confidence, which sat him well.
III. 18. a. To seat oneself; to take a seat; to sit down. Cf. 23 a. Also const. to.
Beowulf 489 Site nu to symle..swa þin sefa hwette. c1175Lamb. Hom. 105 Þet mon..er timan to his borde ne sitte. 1382Wyclif Jer. xiii. 18 Sei to the king,..Beth mekid, sitteth. 1592Kyd Sp. Trag. i. v. 12 [They] sit to the Banquet. c1611Chapman Iliad i. 98 Thus, he sate, and up..Heroic Agamemnon rose. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 19 This done, they sate to the Table, and some Gobelets..were drunk about. 1676Hobbes Iliad i. 101 This said, he sat. 1831Scott Ct. Rob. xii, Sit then, Brenhilda, since the good man will have it so. 1873Holmes Addr. Opening Fifth Avenue Theatre 100 The hurrying crowd..smooths its caudal plumage as it sits.
b. In pa. pple. with is, was, etc. Cf. 23 a (b). Now dial.
c925O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 922, Him cierde eall þæt folc to þe on Mercna lande ᵹeseten wæs. c1290St. Brendan 281 Þo heo weren alle i-sete Þare cam on and seruede. c1300Childhood Jesu 1720 (Horstm.), To þe bord huy beoþ isete. c1380Sir Ferumb. 48 Al on murȝþe was he y-sete wiþ a fair baronye. 1597Shakes. Lover's Compl. 66 Hee againe desires her, being satte [etc.]. 1655tr. Sorel's Com. Hist. Francion vii. 12 We being sate, and she likewise, Clerantes said [etc.]. 1711[see A. 7 γ]. 1864Ramsbotham Lanc. Rhymes 12 At th' eend o' th' day..aw'm sat at whoam.
c. transf. To set; to stick; to settle down.
1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 358 He heard the Sunne hisse, sitting in the West Ocean. 1888Addy Sheffield Gloss. 216 Sit, to adhere firmly, to be burnt. ‘That milk has sit.’ 1901Daily Chron. 28 Dec. 9/2 Henriette (French barque), supposed sat upon her anchor in Astoria Harbour.
†19. To go down on one's knees. Cf. 23 b. Obs.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 63 Ȝwane it saiȝ þe freres sitten a-kneo, kneuli it wolde al-so. a1300Havelok 2709 Þou wost ful wel..Þat Aþelwold þe dide site On knes. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 195 b/2 Assone as the preestys were gone and departed she satte on hir knees. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xvi. 43 Huon..by force was fayne to syt on one of his knees to the erthe.
20. To rise upright, on end, move or lean back, in a sitting posture. Cf. 27.
a1300Cursor M. 19790 Quen sco o petre had a sight, Bi hir self sco satt vp-right. 1822Scott Nigel xxv, The female..sat by the expiring fire with her limbs outstretched... ‘Do not leave me,’..she said, sitting upright. 1884T. Speedy Sport Highl. xiii. 212 It being a habit of the mountain hare..to run one or two hundred yards, and then, kangaroo-like, sit on end and look back. 1885Manch. Exam. 6 Aug. 5/5 Lord Redesdale beamed benevolently upon his contemporary as he sat back upon his bench.
IV. * With adverbs.
21. sit around. To be idle; to lounge. orig. N. Amer.
1915N. L. McClung In Times like These iv. 42 Personally I sympathize with the young man and believe it would be a happier home if she were as interested in the paper as he and were reading the other half of it instead of sitting around feeling hurt. 1935Time 29 July 42/2 Accent on Youth suffers less than most pieces on translation to the screen, for, although its people sit around and talk a lot, they at least talk with wit. 1939I. Baird Waste Heritage xix. 267 A lot of them sat around in shirtsleeves. 1959J. Thurber Years with Ross iv. 61 Ross had asked me..to sit around and talk with him and H. L. Mencken. 1971C. Whitman Death Suspended v. 95 All they did was to sit around looking decorative. 1979Times 13 Nov. 2/8, I could not sit around twiddling my thumbs and doing nothing.
22. sit back. To be inactive or passive.
1943D. Powell Time to be Born xi. 276 One can't sit back and see one's brother..made a monkey of that way! 1953E. Simon Past Masters iii. 156 Harriet is the ideal executive... I can just sit back and let her get on with it. 1970J. Sangster Touchfeather, Too ii. 38 Here then was my contact... I sat back and waited for him to make his play. 1982Times 22 Feb. 1/3 We cannot sit back and let them walk all over us.
23. sit down.
a. (a) To seat oneself; to take a seat. Cf. 18.
c1205Lay. 12958 Þe swike set adun alse he wolde holden run. a1300Havelok 2809 Nu wile ich þat ye doun site. 1390Gower Conf. II. 240 Doun thei seten bothe same. c1470Rauf Coilȝear 177 Doun he sat the King neir, And maid him glaid and gude cheir. a1562G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 217 He was at the last constrayned for werynes to sitt down in a chayer. 1582Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 155 A place appointed for y⊇ captain generall to sit down on. 1674tr. Martiniere's Voy. N. Countries 22 We sat down, fed as heartily as we could, and then taking leave [etc.]. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xv, He entered, drew a chair, and sate down. 1782F. Burney Cecilia viii. v, Mrs. Delville..made her sit down. 1817Scott in Lockhart (1837) IV. iii. 97, I..am often six hours on foot without stopping or sitting down. 1841Lane Arab. Nts. I. 104 He then sat down between the doors. 1890Doyle White Company iv, He sat down by the roadside to partake of his bread and cheese.
(b) In pa. pple. with is, was, etc. Cf. 18 b.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 185 As soon as they were sitten down. 1641Brome Joviall Crew iii. Wks. 1873 III. 402 Yonder they are at peep. And now sitten downe as waiting for my purpose. 1763Museum Rust. I. 23, I am now sat down to give you a few scattered observations. a1774Goldsm. tr. Scarron's Com. Rom. (1775) I. 273 They were scarcely sat down, before one of the housemaids came [etc.]. 1787[see A. 7 β].
(c) Const. to (a game, meal, etc.).
1588Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 239 The sixt houre, when..men sit downe to that nourishment which is called supper. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 101 He..sits down to the Cards or Hazard. 1710Steele Tatler No. 148 ⁋1 The first who ever sat down to a whole roasted Ox. 1795Jemima I. 206 Quietly submit to sit down to the table at which my late fellow servants are to wait. 1826Lamb Pop. Fallacies xiii, Cannot we like Sempronia, without sitting down to chess with her eternal brother? 1856C. J. Andersson Lake Ngami 98 We arrived..just as the family was sitting down to dinner. 1884Times (weekly ed.) 19 Sept. 5/1, I sit down to ham and eggs.
ellipt.1863Illustr. Lond. News 8 Aug. 150/3 The inspection dinner..took place yesterday week... Between forty and fifty gentlemen sat down.
(d) To come accidentally to the ground in a sitting posture.
1859Habits Gd. Society v. 212 To see a man sit down in a waltz.
†b. To go down on one's knees. Cf. 19. Obs.
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 137 Bi-fore ech ymage he op aros, and eft he sat a-doun a-kne. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1335 Þe erl wende to þe emperour & sat adoun a kne. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxii. (Justin) 604 With þat befor þe bischape rath he set done one his kneis bath. 1544Extr. Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 198 To cum..and syt down on hir knees and ask the said Jonat forgifnis. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 187 [They] passit to the quenis grace and sat doune vpone thair kneis and askit pardone. 1626N. Riding Rec. III. 260 Until such time as she shall sit down upon her knees and submit herself to her mother and crave her blessinge.
c. (a) To establish oneself in some position or place; to settle, take up one's abode. In later use chiefly U.S.
1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 693 Donald Bane..efter his Deid sat doun and rang into his Steid. 1579Reg. Privy Counc. Scot. III. 241 [He] satt doun upoun the ground of the saidis landis,..and upliftit the dewiteis of the samin. 1632Winthrop New Eng. (1825) I. 87 The Braintree company, (which had begun to sit down at Mount Wollaston). 1637in Century Mag. (1883) Sept. 644 These ten men..shall have liberty to view a place to sit down, and have land sufficient for three-score families. 1764T. Hutchinson Hist. Mass. (1765) I. 89 Salt meadows..were an inducement to people to sit down there. 1799in Farmer's Mag. Aug. (1801) 311 On the turn of middle age..the author sat down on a farm in Maryland. 1817J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 332 A comparison of their present state with their situation when they first sat down.
(b) To encamp before a town, etc., in order to besiege it; to begin to a siege.
1607Shakes. Cor. iv. vii. 28 All places yeelds to him ere he sits downe, And the Nobility of Rome are his. 1632Massinger Maid of Hon. i. i, The great Gonzaga,..before we could get time To victual or to man the conquered city, Sat down before it. 1670Cotton Espernon i. i. 6 His Father..resolv'd to send him..to the Siege of Rochelle, that was then sitting down. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 120 They sat down to the siege of Coburgh Castle. 1761Hume Hist. Eng. II. xxix. 155 Had he not..sitten down in the winter season before that city. 1829Scott Anne of G. xxxv, The army of Burgundy sat down before Nancy, in a strong position. 1854Milman Lat. Chr. iv. ix. (1864) II. 419 With a large force he sat down before Ravenna.
(c) fig. Of persons or things: To settle down in some way.
1599A. Hume Day Estivall 182 Great is the calme, for euerie quhair The wind is sitten downe. a1675Lightfoot Rem. (1700) 203 There hath been many a good soul that hath sitten down in much sadness. 1730T. Boston Mem. x. 298 In this time it began to sit down on my spirit very much that I was unfit for them. 1780J. Berington St. Eng. Cath. p. viii, Shall I sit down satisfied because the good humour of a magistrate chooses to indulge me. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. iv, We little thought to hae sittin doun wi' the like o' my auld Davie Howden, or you either. 1888Times 26 June 4/6 He [a jockey] did not sit down to ride the horse—i.e., to ride him with his hands and legs. 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 583 A terrific tornado, which has been lurking growling about, then sits down in the forest and bursts.
d. To put up, rest content, with († also in early use by), † to acquiesce in, something. Cf. 31 a.
(a)1608Dod & Cleaver Expos. Prov. xi–xii. 117 But men will laugh at our simplicity, if we sit downe by such indignities. 1663P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 141, I..chose rather to sit down by ye loss then displease him.
(b)1614Jackson Creed iii. 126 All were bound vpon paine of death to sit down with their priuate loss. 1674Boyle Corpusc. Phil. 17 A sober physician..will never sit down with so short an account. 1709Steele Tatler No. 49 ⁋1 We are apt to sit down with our Errors, well enough satisfied with the Methods we are fallen into. 1764J. Randall Semi-Virgil. Husb. App. 10, I was obliged to sit down with that loss, great as it was. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xlvi, He was compelled to sit down with the affront. 1881Mallock Rom. 19th Cent. I. 152 He was not a man tamely to sit down with dejection.
(c)1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. viii, The major part sit down in his authority.
e. spec. To sit down on strike in one's place of work; to sit down in a public place as a form of protest.
1936Sun (Baltimore) 2 Nov. 14/1 Various of the men reporting for picket duty yesterday came from ships where cooks had been the first to ‘sit down’ in sympathy with the West Coast strikers and hadn't had any food for forty-eight hours. 1942Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §528/7 Sit down, to go on a ‘sit-down strike’. 1962P. Mortimer Pumpkin Eater xxi. 179 ‘She paints Ban the Bomb on everything.’.. ‘I suppose she sits down all over the place?’ 1963D. V. Baker Door is always Open ix. 190 Parents sitting down on a dangerous high⁓way, children sitting down to protect a play-street, workers sitting down to achieve some change in conditions. 1965J. Porter Dover Three iii. 34 If she's been sitting down again, she'll have to go... Having members of the staff arrested and flung into jail is bad for the school's reputation.
24. sit in.
a. To have a place as a player at a game.
1599B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. iv. i, We cannot all sit in at them [the proposed games]; we shall make a confusion.
b. To begin in earnest to something.
1736[Chetwood] Voy. Vaughan vi. (1760) 91 When our Business was over, we sat in to Drinking. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xviii. xiii, The Squire sat in to his Cups.
c. dial. (See quot.)
1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘Sit in,’ to adhere, as any extraneous matter does in a recent wound.
d. To attend or be present at an event. (a) To take part in a game or other event. Also const. on, to, with. Cf. sense a. orig. and chiefly U.S.
1868S. Hale Let. 5 Jan. (1919) ii. 44 Before we got to lunch two Englishmen sot in. 1916C. Sandburg Chicago Poems 63 He didn't sit in with the big thieves. a1922T. S. Eliot Waste Land Drafts (1971) 5 Sopped up some gin, sat in to the cork game. 1929Wodehouse Gentleman of Leisure x. 79 You'll be able to let me sit in on de game, won't you? 1962D. Francis Dead Cert ii. 19, I took ten of Henry's chips and sat in with them. Joan dealt. 1973‘H. Howard’ Highway to Murder viii. 102 You weren't invited to sit in on this deal, but you elected to take a hand.
(b) To attend an event or occasion as a spectator or observer. Also const. at, on, with.
1919C. S. Parker Amer. Idyll x. 103, I sat in on a meeting of the Building Trades Board. 1931Oil & Gas Jrnl. 5 Mar. 197/4 Any oil man or state or federal official may ‘sit in’ on the proceedings of the state wide committee. 1945A. Huxley Time must have Stop viii. 91 Paul De Vries had already sat in at a number of the old lady's séances. 1949‘J. Tey’ Brat Farrar viii. 66 Kevin Macdermott had ‘sat in’ at one of these office conferences. 1959Times Lit. Suppl. 10 July 411/1 Mrs. Bennett sat in, in 1928, on the experiment which produced Dr. I. A. Richard's Practical Criticism. 1962‘S. Ransome’ Without Trace iii. 31 ‘He has something to talk over with me.’.. ‘Would he mind if I sat in?’ 1965Listener 13 May 703/2, I sat in with a class and saw the Antigone and The Caucasian Chalk Circle cut up into weekly twenty-minute doses. 1967Daily Tel. 15 May 9/4 To sit in at a play of this sort is to realise quite soon that you are being asked a riddle. 1970Morning Star 11 May 4/4 The headmaster will therefore sit in on some lessons and try to pinpoint the weaknesses so that the teacher is helped. 1977Spare Rib July 17/1 If you sat in on some of the interviews I've been through you'd know.
e. To co-operate, to collaborate. Also const. with, on. (Only in P. G. Wodehouse.)
1925Wodehouse Sam the Sudden xiii. 96 Do you mean to say..that if Soapy was sitting in with the Archbishop of Canterbury on a plan for skinning a sucker, the archbish wouldn't split Even Stephen? 1937― Lord Emsworth & Others ii. 96 Can I count on your co-operation?.. Sit in, and I shall be able to marry the girl I adore. Refuse to do your bit, and I drift through the remainder of my life a soured, blighted bachelor. a1975― Sunset at Blandings (1977) xi. 77 Jeff refused to sit in on your chuckleheaded idea of eloping for a very good reason.
f. orig. U.S. To join in playing or singing with a (spec. jazz) band or orchestra of which one is not a regular member. Also const. with.
1936Delineator Nov. 102/ Those on the drawn-up chairs are sitting in; they have dropped in with their instruments to jam. 1937New Republic 24 Nov. 69/2 Jess saw Bix Beiderbecke and sat in with him later. 1943H. L. Mencken Heathen Days vii. 91 Once, when a baron sat in for a few sessions, we called him Count. 1949L. Feather Inside Be-bop i. 8 On these occasions Kansas Fields or Jack Parker might sit in on drums. 1956E. Delaney in S. Traill Play that Music v. 57 Another thing which influences the playing of today is the fact that no longer can one ‘sit-in’. Before the war any player could walk into a club and ‘sit-in’ with the band. 1965G. Melly Owning Up vii. 75 Buying a barrel of cider for the musicians who came along to sit in. 1971Melody Maker 4 Sept. 20 Mungo Jerry, with Joe Rush, of the Country Jug band sitting in on washboard, sounded like a five man Jesse Fuller. 1982New Yorker 30 Aug. 63/2 His unique playing..alienated club owners and other musicians, and he found little work. He even had trouble sitting in.
g. orig. U.S. (Often written with a hyphen.) To occupy a building as a demonstration of protest.
1941Sun (Baltimore) 15 Apr. 3/3 More than 700 of the city's brighter-than-average students spurned their Easter Monday holiday today and marched to their city college preparatory school to ‘sit in and work’ as a protest against Mayor LaGuardia's proposal to close the school. 1961Look 25 Apr. 46/2 Negroes who picket, sit-in, crowd our jails, advance on white schools and otherwise approach prevailing privilege. 1967Economist 8 Apr. 142/2 Young people who..defend the virtues of marijuana and LSD and march, demonstrate, sit-in or lie-in to prove their faith in assorted causes. 1974K. Millett Flying (1975) v. 517 Rosset had my friends arrested when they sat in at his publishing house. 1976C. Hollis Oxford in Twenties 128 A few [undergraduates]..sit-in, demonstrate, occupy buildings, demand higher grants and more adequate lodgings.
25. sit on.
a. Also with to. (See quots.) Now dial.
c1450Two Cookery-bks. 107 Sette al on the fire,..but sterre it well..for sitting to. 1808Jamieson s.v., Any food, prepared in a pot, is said to sit to, when, from not being stirred, it is allowed to burn. 1825― Suppl. s.v., Broth or soup, which has been boiled too long, especially when burnt in the pot, is said to be sitten on. 1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘To sit on,’ to burn to the pan, chiefly applied to milk.
b. To continue to sit, to remain, stay on.
1882Jamieson's Sc. Dict. IV. 228/1 To sit on, to remain, to continue to abide in the same house. 1893Keith 'Lisbeth II. ii, Isabella was fidgeting..for fear I should be sitting on till the bell rang.
26. sit out.
a. To sit apart from others, or to remain seated, so as take no part in a game, dance, etc. Cf. 39 a.
1626Middleton Mayor of Queenb. i. ii, If I see any kneel, and I sit out, That hour is not well spent. 1629H. Burton Babel no Bethel 54 A nimble humour, apt..to play at small play rather than sit out. 1659Shuffling, Cutting & Deal. 7 I'le play at small game, rather then sit out. 1775Sheridan Rivals v. iii, You won't be so cantanckerous as to spoil the party by sitting out. 1827Scott Chron. Canongate i, Some stuck to cards, and though no longer deep gamblers, rather played small game than sat out. 1886‘Edna Lyall’ Won by Waiting xxix, [She] only refused him once when she wanted to sit out with Cornelia.
fig.1664J. Wilson A. Commenius ii. ii, Who was the prouder pray; Diogenes, that spurn'd at every thing, Or Alexander, that sate out at nothing?
b. To sit in the open air.
1805E. Cavanagh Let. 20 Aug. in Londonderry & Hyde Russian Jrnls. (1934) ii. 179, I sat out & made a Gown while we were going along. 1908[Miss Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 109, I am now sitting out, for the first time.
27. sit up.
a. To raise the body from a recumbent to a sitting posture.
a1225Leg. Kath. 1597 Þa ha weren iseten up, [ha] sehen as þe engles..smireden hire wunden. a1300Cursor M. 3683 ‘Fader,’ he said, ‘sitt vp and ete’. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 456 Þanne sat sleuthe vp and seyned hym swithe. 1526Tindale Luke vii. 15, I saye vnto the aryse. And the deed sate vp. 1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., To sit up in his Bed, s'asseoir dans son Lit. 1847Tennyson Princ. v. 69 She heard, she moved,..and up she sat. 1908R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xxvii, Sonia sat up excitedly. ‘I will not have a doctor,’ she exclaimed.
b. To defer the hour for retiring to bed until late; to wait up for; to watch through the night (or some part of it) with one. Also, S. Afr. and dial., to stay up for part of the night (with a person) as a sign of or during courtship, to keep company with. Cf. opsit v.
1550Crowley Epigr. 624 Our drunkards, that sytte vp so late. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. iii. 10 Let the Nurse this night sit vp with you. 1611Bible Ps. cxxvii. 2 It is vaine for you to rise vp early, to sit vp late. 1672Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal ii. v. (Arb.) 63, I sate up two whole nights in composing this Air. 1710–1Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Mar., The surgeon sat up with him: he is asleep again. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 78 He..even sat up two nights together to examine their operations. 1786J. Woodforde Diary 18 Feb. (1926) II. 228 The Captain..did not return till 12 at Night, just as I was going to bed after sitting up for him till that time. 1837Lockhart Scott II. v. 189 ‘To sit up to supper’ was the great reward when they had been ‘very good bairns’. 1869Geo. Eliot Let. 15 Nov. (1956) V. 67, I admire your courage and endurance in sitting up for the meteors. 1878H. A. Roche On Trek in Transvaal 136 The question of questions is, whether she will ‘sit up and keep company with him!’ If she has consented to do this she has virtually consented to ‘sit up’ with him as long as they both shall live. 1891E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 86 They sat up talking till far into the night. 1892O. Schreiner Thoughts on S. Afr. iv. 181 Having made up his mind which daughter he desires to pay his attention to, it is now necessary he should request the parents' permission to sit up with her. 1893West Cumberland Times (Holiday No.) 6/2 (E.D.D.), The custom being for the lad to sit up with the lass. 1896Dialect Notes I. 424 Sit up with, to receive courtship from. 1951L. Craig Singing Hills 99 Then he asked if he could sit up with me that night. He was merely asking for a date so I said yes. 1961F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk x. 221 Courting..is still described by the terms to sit up or to walk out. 1961D. Rooke Lover for Estelle 36 He had solemnly shown a candle which he carried in his pocket as a hint to Estelle that they should sit up together that night. 1974Daily Dispatch (S. Afr.) 29 Mar. 12 Clinton, you've been sitting up with Nellie..an car riding and nothings come of it.
c. To be in a sitting posture, in contrast to lying in bed. Also spec., to remain in a sitting posture during an overnight train journey, in contrast to taking a sleeper. to sit up and take nourishment, to be convalescent.
1727Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., To sit up in one's Bed, se tenir assis dans son Lit. 1789W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 165 He may sometimes sit up in bed for a short space. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. ix. 98 When they attempt to sit up during convalescence. 1858Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life, Janet's Repent. xxvii, The pale wasted form in the easy-chair (for he sat up to the last). 1909Wodehouse Mike lv. 311 ‘How's Adair?’.. ‘Sitting up and taking nourishment once more.’ 1918E. V. Lucas 'Twixt Eagle & Dove 152 The well-worn phrase ‘to sit up and take nourishment’. 1947L. P. Hartley Eustace & Hilda i. ix. 162 ‘But could you cancel your wagon-lit ticket?’ ‘I don't need to. I'm going to sit up.’ 1953K. Tennant Joyful Condemned xxviii. 277 Now there are no sleepers, you'd have to sit up in the train. 1967O. Wynd Walk Softly vii. 107 ‘You've got a sleeper reservation?’ ‘No, I was going to sit up.’ 1982N. Painting Reluctant Archer v. 82 ‘Book a sleeper,’ said Reggie airily. There were no sleepers. I sat up all night.
†d. Anglo-Ind. (See quot. 1780.) Obs.
1777in Busteed Echoes Old Calcutta (1888) 136 Lady Impey sits up with Mrs. Hastings; vulgo toad-eating. 1780Capt. I. Munro Narr. (1789) 56 When a young lady arrives at Madras she must, in a few days afterwards, sit up to receive company, attended by some beau as master of the ceremonies, which perhaps continues for a week. 1795Sir T. Munro in Gleig Life (1830) I. 169, I am not to be forced to sit up, and receive male or female visitors. 1810[see sitting vbl. n. 6 (b)].
e. (See quot.)
1856S. Warner Hills of Shatemuc xvi. 162 ‘Will you sit up, cousin?’..: the meaning of the request being that he should move his chair up to the table.
f. to make (one) sit up, to astonish, startle, have a powerful effect on, one. Also to sit up and take notice, to become suddenly interested, to pay attention.
1886H. Baumann Londinismen 179/2 To make a person sit up, jemand in Erstaunen setzen. 1889Daily News 23 July 5 When her [George Sand's] novels first made the world ‘sit up’, if we may venture to use such a phrase. 1893‘Q.’ (Quiller Couch) Delect. Duchy 323, I am going to tell you a story that..will make you sit up. 1896M. W. Hungerford Lonely Girl xv, If you had accepted my pink gown..you would have made..[him] sit up. [1898Kipling Stalky (1899) 84 If they make such a row now, what will they do when she really begins to look up an' take notice?] 1909N.Y. Even. Post 6 Mar. 1/3 The crowd that fell upon Washington was of such a size that the District authorities sat up and took serious notice. 1929Burton Evening Gaz. 1 Jan. 5/1 By the time that the Oxford English Dictionary compilers reach the ‘E’ section of additions to that great work..they will have to sit up and take some notice of a new and curious borrowing from the French. 1954A. Huxley Let. 18 Jan. (1969) 694 If you want them to sit up and take notice, prepare your way with a barrage of heavy guns from respectable institutions. 1968H. C. Rae Few Small Bones ii. viii. 141 Look at him..stuffed full of pet theories, praying I'll sit up and take notice of him. 1977M. Allen Spence in Petal Park xvii. 77 When I see him I sit up and take notice.
g. to sit up and beg (cf. beg v. 2 i): used fig.; also (with hyphens) as adj. phr.
1917R. Barnes Let. 20 July in M. Gilbert W. S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 105 Pile up the guns & shells & we will make the Hun sit up & beg, but we haven't got enough yet. 1919W. H. Berry New Traffic (Aircraft) viii. 46 Our gallant youth is quite prepared..to make his seventy miles per hour motor-bike sit-up-and-beg as he would put it. 1958Listener 16 Oct. 603/2 In the ‘sit-up-and-beg’ attitude in which some modern fighter aircraft come in to land. 1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1275/1 ‘He can make it sit up and beg’ indicates that a man has become extremely proficient in working some material, e.g. a metal. 1963Bird & Hutton-Stott Veteran Motor Car 215 They were usually endowed with handsome ‘sporty’ bucket seat bodies in marked contrast to the usual sit-up-and-beg auntification of the time. 1968New Scientist 3 Oct. 8/2 The pilot is thus in a sit-up-and-beg attitude. 1973G. Talbot Ten Seconds from Now xvi. 200 He rode, incongruously, in a vintage, sit-up-and-beg, hearse-like black limousine. 1978Lancashire Life Apr. 65/1 Old Luke's sit-up-and-beg bike was propped against one of the sandstone gateposts. 1978Times 4 July 19/4 Ramirez tucked away a net cord by his opponent that sat up and simply begged. 1980Radio Times 4–10 Oct. 13/1 A midwife in London's dockland, travelling around on a sit-up-and-beg bike.
h. to sit up like Jacky (Austral.), to sit up straight, to comport oneself in a prim and proper manner.
1941Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 38 Jacky, sit up like, to behave, sit up straight. 1969P. A. Smith Folklore Austral. Railwaymen 180 As we were rattling along north to Darwin I happened to look back out of the guard's van and there they [sc. the hoboes] were—sitting up like Jacky in the commissioner's car behind us. 1975H. Porter Extra 139 He's telling Edinburgh, and those writers sitting up like jacky in tiers behind him, about the construction of his next book.
** With prepositions, in special senses.
28. sit on or upon.
a. To sit in judgement or council, to deliberate, on (a person or matter).
c1440Gesta Rom. viii. 21 (Harl. MS.), Þe domys-man come to þe Cite, for to sitte vp on brekers of þe lawe. 1462Paston Lett. II. 82 It is seyd her that..serteyn jwgys..schold come downe and syt on syche pepyll as be noysyd ryotous. 1535Coverdale 2 Macc. xiv. 21 They appoynted a daye to syt vpon these matters quyetly amonge them selues. 1574Travers Decl. Eccl. Discipl. Table, Deacons which he appointed..to sit vppon the offences that arise in the churches. 1608Chapman Byron's Trag. v. ii, Must I be sat on now, by petty Judges. a1693Ashmole Antiq. Berksh. (1719) I. 153 Her Father..caused her Corps to be taken up, the Coroner to sit upon her, and further Enquiry to be made. 1712Addison Spect. No. 550 ⁋3 At which time I intend to sit upon Business. 1798Hull Advert. 13 Oct. 3/2 A coroner's jury has sat on the body, and returned a verdict of lunacy. 1852Hawker Diary (1893) II. 337 The select committee at Ordnance, who..sat on my new military carbine. 1885Harper's Mag. Mar. 547/1 A committee of..friends..‘sat’ upon our affairs while we were furnishing.
b. To have a seat on (a jury, commission, etc.).
1538Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 134 The kinges maiestye hathe appointed you..to sit vpon the tryall of knell being accused of Treason. 1594West 2nd Pt. Symbol., Chancerie §84 When the time came that the same commission was to be sitten on. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. 282 We find not that there was any..commission sitten upon about their death. 1676I. Mather Hist. K. Philip's War (1862) 48 Indians as well as English sate upon the Jury. 1836in Barrow Mirror of Parlt. 2041/2 Those who sit on courts-martial have a most important office to perform. 1840Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 120 My poor man of genius had to sit on a jury. 1895Times 10 Jan. 9/6 He sat on the Royal Commission on Hospitals.
†c. To press sore or hard on (one). Cf. 14 b.
c1470Henry Wallace x. 690 In to fleyng the Sotheroun suttaill ar, Se thai the tym thai wyll syt on ws sar. 1737L. Clarke Hist. Bible (1740) I. ix. 583 He..would never..give that party any favour.., but on the contrary sat hard upon them on all occasions.
d. slang. To squash, check, snub.
1865Slang Dict. 231 Sit-upon, to overcome or rebuke, to express contempt for a man in a marked manner. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xviii, ‘Bell, what is good for you, when you're sat upon?’ ‘Patience,’ says Bell. 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Paston Carew xxxiv, My lady felt rebuked, and, as she afterward expressed it, sat upon. 1892I. Zangwill Childr. Ghetto I. xi. 238 ‘Odious prig!’ thought Hannah. ‘He actually doesn't see I'm sitting on him.’ 1894Somerville & ‘Ross’ Real Charlotte I. vi. 76 If you're going to sit on me every time I open my mouth, I'd better shut up. 1936N. Streatfeild Ballet Shoes xiv. 225 In the tube going home, Pauline and Petrova pestered Posy for criticism of the production; but the moment she made any, they sat on her, asking her what she thought she knew about it. 1969New Yorker 14 June 46/2 Someone should have sat on him when he was young. 1975Guardian 22 Jan. 1/2 The TUC general secretary..proceeded to sit heavily on the CBI's suggestion.
e. To hold back, to keep to oneself without acting upon.
1906Kipling Actions & Reactions (1909) 203 A three⁓million pound insurrection caused by a deputy Under-Secretary sitting upon a mass of green-labelled correspondence instead of reading it. 1967F. Clifford All Men are Lonely Now i. iv. 64 Where have all the yellows gone?.. Seriously, who's sitting on them? 1983M. Hinxman Corpse Now Arriving vii. 45 She'd ‘sat’ on the article..until..a deadline had galvanized her into putting words on paper.
f. To suppress, to silence.
1915A. Huxley Let. Nov. (1969) 85 What an odd business it was about the suppression of Lawrence's book, The Rainbow. It is always the serious books that get sat on. 1925‘R. Hall’ Saturday Life iv. 51 But she sat on her conscience. 1972D. McLachlan No Case for Crown iii. 39, I want this story sat on till midnight. 1976M. Machlin Pipeline ii. 32 There had to be a scout on that plane—this one's going to be hard to sit on. 1977Undercurrents June–July 18/1 These huge public charivari were sat upon heavily by the police.
g. To wait for (something or someone) to change or develop; to observe or trail.
1958Spectator 11 July 62/2 Two children..were brought to my hospital..suffering from appendicitis, which had been treated conservatively (or in hospital slang ‘sat on’) for several days. 1966I. Jefferies House-Surgeon vi. 118, I couldn't make up my mind either, so we decided to sit on her and see what happened.
h. to sit on the splice (Cricket): see splice n. 1 c.
29. sit over, to be occupied with (a matter, etc.) while sitting; to pore over (a book). Also, to linger over (a meal, etc.) while sitting.
1848Thackeray Van. Fair xlviii, Her daughters sighed, and sate over the Peerage all night. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 45 The garden..where..the elder merchants sat over their pipe and beaker of Rhine wine. 1952M. Laski Village x. 156 The dinner was cleared away and they sat over their coffee. 1971‘E. Ferrars’ Stranger & Afraid vi. 112 They..had lunch, sitting over it until about two o'clock.
30. sit under. To listen to, be a hearer of, attend the church of (a minister or preacher). Also, to listen to (a teacher), to be the pupil of.
1644Milton Educ. 6 There would then also appear in Pulpits other visages, other gestures,..then what we now sit under. [1688Bunyan Jerus. Sinner (1700) 130 Those that sit under the Glorious sound of the Gospel.] 1754Connoisseur No. 27 ⁋5 The..audience that sits under our preachers. 1797R. Storry J. Foster's Poems To Rdr., The privilege which he enjoyed in sitting under the ministry of the late..Mr. Adam. 1840Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. x, She, after a time,..sat under him, as the phrase is, regularly thrice a week. 1878J. A. Symonds in Brown Life (1903) 338 Your sermon on Faith..makes me wish that I had the privilege of ‘sitting under’ you. 1899J. London Let. 20 Sept. (1966) 56 Stopped over at Stanford, where I..sat under the various profs. 1952‘J. Tey’ Singing Sands iii. 39 He ‘sat under’ a bank clerk in Glasgow, a chap from Uist, and swotted up some Gaelic.
31. sit with.
†a. Sc. To put up with or tolerate, to stand (a wrong, etc.). Obs. Cf. 23 d.
c1470Gol. & Gaw. 90 That sege wald sit with none wrang Of berne that wes borne. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 28 Ane man..nocht willing to seit with so mony wrangis as he had gottin onrewengit. 1635Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. lii. 149 They haue been false to Christ and He will not sit with the wrong. 1678Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xxi. §iii. 112 Nor is it probable that the person offended would have sitten long with such a wrong. 1714in Cloud of Witnesses (1778) 5 God will not sit with all the wrongs done to him.
b. To be consonant or in harmony with, to agree with, to befit (one). Now only arch.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions App. 330 It sitteth not with equitie, that the elder should be putte beside the enheritaunce of his father. 1579Spenser Let. to Harvey Wks. (Globe) 706/1 It sitteth with you now, to call your wits and senses togither. 1590― F.Q. i. i. 30 With holy father sits not with such thinges to mell. [1893Stevenson Catriona i. 2 As for the rapier, nae doubt it sits wi' your degree.]
c. To be received in a specified manner by; to be consonant with.
1961in Webster s.v. 1sit, Setting an example that may not sit well with the more obedient Communist leaders. 1972Listener 1 June 705/2 In the meanwhile sanctions would be continued, and this did not sit well with right⁓wing opinion inside the Conservative Party.
V. refl. and trans.
32. refl. To seat (oneself).
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §2 Sitte [ðin mod] him on minum hrædwæne;..ic bio his ladðeow. a1300Cursor M. 17845 Sundri þai þam fra oþer saite, And aiþer be himseluen wrate. c1500Melusine 243 Thenne he satte hym at dyner nygh to Eglantyne. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 16 Sit thee by our side. 1686J. S[ergeant] Hist. Monast. Conv. 183 The Prayer of the Mass..being sung, he sat him self again in his seat. 1830H. Angelo Remin. I. 185 Bach..would sit himself in his place. 1898Rider Haggard Dr. Therne 202 He sat himself upon the marble edge of the basin.
b. With down. (The more frequent use.) Also, to settle (quot. 1823).
c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 3671 He satt him doune besyde him. a1533Ld. Berners Huon I. 166 He sat hym down vnder a fayre oke. a1562G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 104 [He] called for a chayer, & satt hyme self down in the mydds of the table. 1659Pell Impr. Sea 59 In every corner they walk into, or sit themselves down in. 1682N. O. Boileau's Lutrin i. 156 He yields, and sits him down to tast the Creature. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 32, I sit me down a pensive hour to spend. 1775Fletcher Checks Wks. 1795 VI. 230 The multitude of professors, who sit themselves down in self imputed righteousness. 1823Colebrooke in St. Cape Good Hope 374 The early colonists of South Africa sat themselves down on fertile spots. 1868F. E. Paget Lucretia 199, I..sat myself down on the ridge. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. xiii, Come and sit you down by the fire.
33. a. trans. To sit upon, to ride (a horse). Also transf.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 276 He would not suffre any bodye to sitte hym, or gette up on his backe. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer iv. (1577) S iv b, Hee that sitteth not well a horse. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. ii. 16 He..grew so ill He could not sit his Mule. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Amb. 285 The King return'd..so Drunk, as were also most of his Lords, that they could hardly sit their Horses. 1700Prior Carm. Sec. xvi, Hardly the Muse can sit the headstrong Horse. 1762Wesley Jrnl. 30 Mar., It was difficult to sit our horses. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park II. ii. 33 Poor old coachman would attend us..though he was hardly able to sit the box on account of the rheumatism. 1836Mrs. Sherwood H. Milner iii. v, Edgar sits a horse as well as any young man in England. 1891N. Gould Double Event 230 Wells could not sit the horse better himself. 1977New Yorker 11 July 19/1 She sits a bicycle with the feckless insouciance of an eleven-year-old gliding down a country lane.
b. Of a hen or hen-bird: To sit upon, to hatch (eggs). Also transf. (quot. 1828).
1600Surflet Countrie Farme i. xvi. 107 Geese loue not almost to sit any but their owne egs. 1651Baxter Inf. Bapt. 51 The Hen gathereth the youngest most tenderly: Yea, how long will she sit the very eggs? 1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘He wad sit eggs,’ said of a person, who sits long in a neighbour's house, when his company might be well dispensed with. 1867Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. ii. 525 The hen will sit seventeen of her own eggs.
c. To sit in (a boat) in an expert manner, using one's body-weight to adjust its balance.
1865Etoniana xi. 170 The time-honoured custom of ‘sitting a boat’. 1866Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 66 They sit their boat, and keep time as if they were two clock-work figures. 1886Illustr. Lond. News 1 May 448/2 There is a great deal in knowing how to ‘sit’ and ‘trim’ a boat.
34. a. To cause (a person) to sit; to seat in a certain place or position. Also with down, up.
1470–85Malory Arthur vii. ix. 225 The grene knyghte took hym and sat hym at a syde table. 1557North Gueuara's Diall. Pr. 379 In the bankets the kings of Persia made, they sate him whom they loved..on the left hand of the prince. a1562G. Cavendish Wolsey (1893) 253, I went and sat the wayters to dynner. 1848Dickens Dombey xi, Taking Paul up in his arms, and sitting him on another little table. 1890Chamb. Jrnl. 21 June 387/1 He promptly sat us down to such entertainment as his vessel furnishes. 1895Daily News 9 Oct. 7/5 The man is so bad that we can't sit him up.
b. To place in position for photographing.
1890Anthony's Photogr. Bull. III. 92 We sit a stranger immediately he comes in, knowing absolutely nothing what manner of man he is of.
c. To make or cause (a hen-bird) to sit.
1891T. Hardy Tess (1900) 62/1 Ought she not..to..know how to sit hens and turkeys?
†35. To set or place. Obs. rare.
1530Palsgr. 719/1 Syt these glasses of rose water a sonnynge. 1798C. Smith Yng. Philos. IV. 224 If he would sit me down where he found me. 1824W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. LVII. 511 When he took his lady from the horse Into his arms, he gently sat her down.
†36. Sc. (and north.). To disregard, neglect, pay no heed or attention to (a command, call, etc.). Obs. [So MIcel. sitja.]
a1300Havelok 2567 Was non þat euere his bode sat, For he him dredde swipe sore. c1470Rauf Coilȝear 99 Durst scho neuer sit summoundis that scho hard him say. 1513Douglas æneid iv. vi. 6 Astonist he was to site so hie ane charge. a1585Montgomerie Flyting 67 Sit thou this charge,..The second sall bee something sairer. c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 43 Let Cities learne of Ninive the great, For to repent, and not God's summons sit. 1699T. Boston Art of Man-Fishing (1900) 61, I did a long time sit the call of the church. 1742E. Erskine Serm. Wks. 1871 III. 58 His bowels are shut against me: I have sitten his call so often. 1856G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes Berwick 43, I sat that bidding, but I've rued it ay sin syne.
37. To sit against, resist; to endure, bear; to put up with, go on with. Now rare.
c1400Sir Degrev. 15 (Lincoln MS.), Was never knyghte..Mighte sitt a strake of his hande One his styff stede. 1604Dekker Honest Wh. Wks. 1873 II. 114, I must sit all stormes. 1625Donne Serm. cl. Wks. 1839 VI. 56 First God turns their Rivers into blood, Pharaoh Sits that process and more. 1640tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. i. 50 Being unable to sit the shock of fowr lances,..he was unhorsed. 1848Newman Loss & Gain xviii. 273 And he's so positive..; it is quite unpleasant, I don't know how to sit it sometimes. 1859Reade Love me Little vii. (1868) 88 Ladies, whose hearts are in dress, have no taste for books however frivolous; can't sit them above a second or two.
38.
†a. To hold (a meeting). Obs.—1
1635in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 274 For the meeting..it stood not well with some other occasion to have it sitten at this time.
b. = sit out (39 b); to stay till the end of.
1784Laura & Augustus III. 16 We soon after this returned home, not chusing to sit the entertainment. 1845Still Cottar's Sunday 36 Neebours roun', whan Robin teuk it, Swore he wadna sit his lease.
c. To bear (one) company in sitting.
1828Carr Craven Gloss. s.v., ‘To sit a woman,’ to keep company with her, to court. 1879Meredith Egoist xix, I will undertake to sit you through it up to morning.
d. To act as a baby-sitter for (a child). Also transf.
1950Here & Now (N.Z.) Nov. 28/2 He is a nice domestic chap: speaks on international affairs; helps old ladies across the street; can sit a baby. 1971E. Fenwick Impeccable People xx. 110 He can help sit Granny, too. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 16 June 9-c/6 (Advt.), ‘Grandma’ needed to sit 3 pre-school boys, in my home ½ days beginning late August.
e. To take (an examination).
1957A. Wilson Bit off Map 40 With the degree behind me, I shall sit the Administrative in June. 1966Rep. Comm. Inquiry Univ. Oxf. II. 152 Collections are college examinations, usually sat at the beginning of a term. 1980Radio Times 1–7 Mar. 16/4 A child can..enter for and sit an examination without being put forward by the school.
39. sit out.
a. To remain seated and take no part in (a game or dance). Also transf. Cf. 26 a.
1659Shuffling, Cutting & Deal. 3, I was somewhat scrupulous, whether Play was lawful, or not; and so sate out the last Game. c1869Taylor & Dubourg in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1973) III. 251, I didn't sit out one dance. 1885‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 15 I've never had to sit out a waltz before. 1957Economist 19 Oct. 208/2 Only two countries—Holland and Australia—gave a majority in favour of getting involved [in a war with Russia]. In the rest, all but two of which are allies of America, most people said they would rather sit this one out. 1978G. A. Sheehan Running & Being xv. 211, I hadn't realized this..until the 1976 Boston Marathon... Any thinking adult would have sat this one out.
b. To remain sitting, so as to be present during the course of (something). Also with it (quot. 1809), implying endurance of something disagreeable.
1711Addison Spect. No. 101 ⁋7 An Audience would sit out an Evening to hear a Dramatical Performance. 1727Swift Art Polit. Lying Wks. 1755 III. i. 118 [To] sit out publick prayers with decency. 1809Malkin Gil Blas viii. ix. ⁋11, I cannot conceive how a clever fellow like you can sit it out with such loutish guests. 1837Ticknor Life, Lett. & Jrnls. II. vi. 107, I..sat out a part of their family breakfast. 1888J. Johnston Cent. Conf. Missions I. 450 This is the only meeting, except the first, which it has been my privilege to sit out.
c. To remain longer than (another) when paying a visit.
1751Fielding Amelia II. v. v. 127 She resolved to come to an eclaircissement, and having sat out some company that came in, when they were alone together, [etc.]. 1808Jane Austen Let. 9 Dec. (1952) 237 We found Mrs. Lance at home & alone, & sat out three other Ladies who soon came in. 1845Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 344 He stayed till eleven, Craik sitting him out. 1883W. E. Norris Thirlby Hall xii, I thought I would sit the other visitors out.
Add:[II.] [13.] f. Without compl. or adv.: to remain untouched or unused.
1987N.Y. Times 2 July c10/2, I had two choices: Let the place sit, or fix it up like a Hollywood home. 1989Classic & Sportscar Feb. 16/1 It had been sitting for 20 years, so is..ripe for restoration. |