seat

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   any support where you can sit, especially the part of a chair or bench etc. on which you sit

   I dusted off the seat before sitting down.

2. 2
   noun

   furniture that is designed for sitting on

   there were not enough seats for all the guests

3. 3
   noun

   the cloth covering for the buttocks

   The seat of my pants was worn through.

4. 4
   noun

   the legal right to sit as a member in a legislative or similar body

   They were elected to a seat in the Senate.

5. 5
   noun

   the location (metaphorically speaking) where something is based

   the brain is said to be the seat of reason

6. 6
   noun

   a space reserved for sitting, as in a theater, or on a train

   I booked my seats in advance.

7. 7
   verb

   show to a seat

   assign a seat for

8. 8
   verb

   place in or on a seat

   the mother seated the toddler on the high chair

Etymology

From Middle English sete, from Old English sǣte, possibly from (or simply cognate with) Old Norse sæti (“seat”), both from Proto-Germanic *sētiją (“seat”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”); compare Old English set (“seat”). Noun sense 2 (“location or site”) is probably derived from Old English sǣte (“house”), which is related to Old High German sāza (“sedan, seat, domicile”). Cognates * Middle Dutch gesaete * Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)