The Descendants of Sedere

The Descendants of Sedere The Descendants of Sedere The Descendants of Sedere By Mark Nichol Sit and its past-tense form sat, as well as set, settle, and seat, are cognates from Old English of the Latin verb sedere, meaning â€Å"sit.† The more or less disguised direct descendants of that term are listed and briefly defined in this post. Words derived from a Latin verb stemming from sedere and meaning â€Å"sit beside† (originally pertaining to an official who assists a judge) include the verb assess, which means â€Å"estimate property value for taxation purposes† (the noun form is assessment); the adjective assiduous, meaning â€Å"showing great care†; and the noun assize, meaning â€Å"court session.† The noun and verb size, meaning â€Å"physical extent† and â€Å"arrange by size† respectively, among other things, is derived from assize. To sedate is to calm or settle, the adjective sedate means â€Å"calm or settled,† the adjective sedative denotes â€Å"tending to calm or settle,† and a sedative is something that calms or settles, especially a drug. Sedan, originally the word for a chair attached to poles so it can be carried, was later applied to an enclosed automobile. Sedentary means â€Å"settled,† â€Å"physically inactive,† or â€Å"permanently attached.† (Sessile is a synonym for the latter sense, or means â€Å"directly attached to the base.†) Sederunt, taken directly from Latin, refers to an extended seated discussion. Sediment denotes material that settles to the bottom of a body of liquid, such as sedimentary rock; sedimentation is the process of formation of this type of rock. Session, meaning â€Å"a meeting or series of meetings,† or â€Å"a period of instruction,† and sà ©ance, the word for a session at which communication with the spirit world is attempted, refer to sitting, while dissident, describing someone who disagrees with or opposes the status quo, literally means â€Å"one who sits apart.† Reside means â€Å"dwell† or â€Å"live,† and preside means â€Å"govern† (literally, â€Å"sit before†); the noun forms are resident and president, and the adjectival forms are residential and presidential. Subside (literally, â€Å"sit down†) means â€Å"settle,† â€Å"sink,† â€Å"decrease,† or â€Å"descend,† and the act or condition of subsiding is subsidence. A subsidy, meanwhile, is a money grant; the literal meaning of the word, â€Å"sit near,† suggests the support a grant provides. Obsess originally meant â€Å"besiege† but now refers to unrelenting attention to someone or something; the adjectival form is obsessive, and an instance of obsessing is an obsession. Siege itself means â€Å"a military blockade† and, by extension, â€Å"a serious or sustained attack.† Insidious, stemming from the idea of sitting in ambush, means â€Å"deceitful.† Possess means â€Å"have and hold,† and the adjectival and noun forms are possessive and possession. To supersede is to replace or set aside; surcease, a descendant of supersede’s Latin forebear by way of Old French, means â€Å"cease† as a verb and, as a noun, refers to an act of desisting. To beset is to harass or surround, or to ornament by setting or studding something with smaller objects, such as jewels in a crown. Similarly, to inset is to insert something into something else so that it can be seen, and an inset is something so treated, or a channel or the act of flowing in. Cosset, meaning â€Å"caress† or â€Å"pamper,† may come from an Old English word that means â€Å"cottage dweller† (in the sense of one who raises animals as pets). See, the word for the location or authority of a high-ranking clergyman (distinct from see as it pertains to vision), is from a Latin word related to sedere that pertains to a seat. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?80 Idioms with the Word Time25 Favorite Portmanteau Words