seat

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”). 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)

noun

1. Something to be sat upon.
   1. A place in which to sit.
      There are two hundred seats in this classroom.
      […] Grand Union proposes making a seat part of the price of a ticket, with 50% refunds for those travelling for longer than 30 minutes unable to obtain a seat. 2019 October, “South Wales open access bid”, in Modern Railways, page 15
   2. The horizontal portion of a chair or other furniture designed for sitting.
      He sat on the arm of the chair rather than the seat, which always annoyed his mother.
      the seat of a saddle
   3. A piece of furniture made for sitting, such as a chair, stool, or bench; any improvised place for sitting.
      She pulled the seat from under the table to allow him to sit down.
      1. (aviation, military, slang) An ejection seat.
         Hey, fighter boy, our radar's putting out enough energy to launch your seat from this distance!
   4. The part of an object or individual (usually the buttocks) directly involved in sitting.
      Instead of saying "sit down", she said "place your seat on this chair".
   5. The part of a piece of clothing (usually pants or trousers) covering the buttocks.
      Several pressmen have nearly lost their lives, to say nothing of the seats of their trousers, from these creatures. 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
      I love these new biker pants I bought! There's padding in the seat to protect my rear end. Jul 20 2006, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)
      The seat of these trousers is almost worn through.
   6. (engineering) A part or surface on which another part or surface rests.
      The seat of the valve had become corroded.
2. A location or site.
   1. (figurative) A membership in an organization, particularly a representative body.
      Our neighbor has a seat at the stock exchange and in congress.
   2. The location of a governing body.
      Washington D.C. is the seat of the U.S. government.
      The K'o-tzu-lo-su Kirghiz chou bordered on the K'o-shih chuan-ch'ü and its seat at A-t'u-shih was only twenty-five kilometers from K'o-shih shih. 1963, Henry G. Schwarz, Policies and Administration of Minority Areas in Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, 1949-1959, volume 2, →OCLC, page 338
      But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure. Yet this is the level of organisation that does the actual thinking—and is, presumably, the seat of consciousness. 2013-08-03, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847
   3. (certain Commonwealth countries) An electoral district, especially for a national legislature.
   4. A temporary residence, such as a country home or a hunting lodge.
      A man of fortune, who lives in London, may, in plays, operas, routs, assemblies, French cookery, French sauces, and French wines, spend as much yearly, as he could do, were he to live in the most hospitable manner at his seat in the country. 1806, William Cobbett, The Parliamentary History of England
   5. The place occupied by anything, or where any person, thing or quality is situated or resides; a site.
   6. (law, England & Wales) One of a series of departmental placements given to a trainee solicitor as part of their training contract.
   7. (historical) Any of several autonomous regions in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.
3. The starting point of a fire.
4. Posture, or way of sitting, on horseback.
   George was a perfect picture on horseback; he had a light, firm seat, and seemed as if he were a part of his horse, and was only happy when away in the saddle for hours together, mustering cattle or tracking a missing horse. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 85

verb

1. (transitive) To put an object into a place where it will rest; to fix; to set firm.
   Be sure to seat the gasket properly before attaching the cover.
2. (transitive) To provide with a place to sit.
   This classroom seats two hundred students.
   The waiter seated us and asked what we would like to drink.
   The guests were no sooner seated but they entered into a warm debate. 1712, John Arbuthnot, An Essay Concerning the Effects of Air on Human Bodies
   He used to seat you on the piano and then, with vehement gestures and pirouettings, would argue the case. Not one word of the speech did you understand. 1887, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, History of Woman Suffrage
   The older Jungfrau locomotives are of 330 h.p. only, but can push two coaches seating a total of 80 passengers up the 1 in 4 at 4 m.p.h. 1960 December, Voyageur, “The Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland”, in Trains Illustrated, page 755
3. (transitive) To request or direct one or more persons to sit.
   Please seat the audience after the anthem and then introduce the first speaker.
4. (transitive, legislature) To recognize the standing of a person or persons by providing them with one or more seats which would allow them to participate fully in a meeting or session.
   Only half the delegates from the state were seated at the convention because the state held its primary too early.
   You have to be a member to be seated at the meeting. Guests are welcome to sit in the visitors section.
5. (transitive) To assign the seats of.
   to seat a church
6. (transitive) To cause to occupy a post, site, or situation; to station; to establish; to fix; to settle.
7. (obsolete, intransitive) To rest; to lie down.
8. To settle; to plant with inhabitants.
   to seat a country
   The Plantations, for the most Part, are high and pleasantly seated 1747, William Stith, The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia
9. (transitive) To put a seat or bottom in.
   to seat a chair