| Sit | v. i. [ imp. Sat Sate archaic); p. p. Sat (Sitten obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sitting. ] [ OE. sitten, AS. sittan; akin to OS. sittian, OFries. sitta, D. zitten, G. sitzen, OHG. sizzen, Icel. sitja, SW. sitta, Dan. sidde, Goth. sitan, Russ. sidiete, L. sedere, Gr. 'e`zesqai, Skr. sad. √154. Cf. Assess, Assize, Cathedral, Chair, Dissident, Excise, Insidious, Possess, Reside, Sanhedrim, Séance, Seat, n., Sedate, 4th Sell, Siege, Session, Set, v. t., Sizar, Size, Subsidy. ] 1. To rest upon the haunches, or the lower extremity of the trunk of the body; -- said of human beings, and sometimes of other animals; as, to sit on a sofa, on a chair, or on the ground. [ 1913 Webster ] And he came and took the book put of the right hand of him that sate upon the seat. Bible (1551) (Rev. v. 7.) [ 1913 Webster ] I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. To perch; to rest with the feet drawn up, as birds do on a branch, pole, etc. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition. [ 1913 Webster ] And Moses said to . . . the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? Num. xxxii. 6. [ 1913 Webster ] Like a demigod here sit I in the sky. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh; -- with on; as, a weight or burden sits lightly upon him. [ 1913 Webster ] The calamity sits heavy on us. Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. To be adjusted; to fit; as, a coat sits well or ill. [ 1913 Webster ] This new and gorgeous garment, majesty,
Sits not so easy on me as you think. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. To suit one well or ill, as an act; to become; to befit; -- used impersonally. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ] 7. To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate. [ 1913 Webster ] As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not. Jer. xvii. 11. [ 1913 Webster ] 8. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction. [ 1913 Webster ] Like a good miller that knows how to grind, which way soever the wind sits. Selden. [ 1913 Webster ] Sits the wind in that quarter? Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ] 9. To occupy a place or seat as a member of an official body; as, to sit in Congress. [ 1913 Webster ] 10. To hold a session; to be in session for official business; -- said of legislative assemblies, courts, etc.; as, the court sits in January; the aldermen sit to-night. [ 1913 Webster ] 11. To take a position for the purpose of having some artistic representation of one's self made, as a picture or a bust; as, to sit to a painter. [ 1913 Webster ]
To sit at, to rest under; to be subject to. [ Obs. ] “A farmer can not husband his ground so well if he sit at a great rent”. Bacon. --
To sit at meat or
To sit at table, to be at table for eating. --
To sit down. (a) To place one's self on a chair or other seat; as, to sit down when tired. (b) To begin a siege; as, the enemy sat down before the town. (c) To settle; to fix a permanent abode. Spenser. (d) To rest; to cease as satisfied. “Here we can not sit down, but still proceed in our search.” Rogers. --
To sit for a fellowship, to offer one's self for examination with a view to obtaining a fellowship. [ Eng. Univ. ] --
To sit out. (a) To be without engagement or employment. [ Obs. ] Bp. Sanderson. (b) To outstay. (c) to refrain from participating in [ an activity such as a dance or hand at cards ]; used especially after one has recently participated in an earlier such activity. The one sitting out does not necessarily have to sit during the activity foregone. --
To sit under, to be under the instruction or ministrations of; as, to sit under a preacher; to sit under good preaching. --
To sit up, to rise from, or refrain from, a recumbent posture or from sleep; to sit with the body upright; as, to sit up late at night; also, to watch; as, to sit up with a sick person. “He that was dead sat up, and began to speak.” Luke vii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]
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