Sit

SIT, v. and sb. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. [sit.] I. v. Gram. forms. 1. Present Tense: (1) Seet, (2) Sitt, (3) Zit. (1) n.Cy. Holloway. Chs.2 (2) Sc. (Jam.) (3) w.Som.1, nw.Dev.1 2. Preterite: (1) Sar, (2) Sate, (3) Seat, (4) Seet, (5) Set, (6) Sit, (7) Sittet, (8) Sot, (9) Sut, (10) Zot. (1) w.Yks.5 Sar him darn to rest. (2) w.Yks. Ah sate watchin t'reek, Preston Poems (1864) 31. (3) Wm. A seat doon a top ov a crag neeak, Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 7. (4) s.Lan.1 Hoo seet by the foire. Chs.1 (5) ne.Yks.1, e.Yks.1, m.Yks.1 Introd. 39. w.Yks. Shoo set daan an' hed a gooid cry, Hartley Clock Alm. (1889) 53, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 10, 1897). Lan. We set not long after, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 6. s.Not. She set down on a cheer (J.P.K.). n.Lin.1, War.2 Sus. I set down under his shadder, Lower Sng. Sol. (1860) ii. 3. [Amer. You hain't hardly said aye, yes, ner no sence you set down, Westcott David Harum (1900) i.] (6) s.Lan.1 Hoo sit bi the foire. s.Chs.1 83. (7) Lnk. Sometimes we sittet doon, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 31. (8) Ir. Dick sot awhile, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 49; (A.S.-P.) Chs. Hoo sot theer i' th' cheer, Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 3. s.Stf. Her sot in her low-sated cheer, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895) 8. Der. I sot cuttin' a stick, Verney Stone Edge (1868) vi. War.3, w.Wor. (W.B.) Shr.1 Gram. Outlines, 54. Glo. Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) vii. e.An.2 Suf. I sot here, Macmillan's Mag. (Sept. 1889) 359. Ess.1, w.Som.1 Cor. I... sot mighty still, Phillpotts Prophets (1897) 211. [Amer. An' there sot Huldy all alone, Lowell Biglow Papers, 10.] (9) n.Ir. A sut doon, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan 13. Dwn. A' sullen an' sulky sut John, Savage-Armstrong Ballads (1901) 53. Shr.1 Gram. Outlines, 54. (10) Som. Then zot down an' ate his supper, Raymond No Soul (1899) 172. w.Som. Zau·t, Elworthy Gram. (1877) 48. Dev. Here I must zot o' nights, Mortimer W. Moors (1895) 105. 3. Pp.: (1) Sat, (2) Satten, (3) Sattun, (4) Set, (5) Sit, (6) Sitten, (7) Sot, (8) Sutten, (9) Suttin, (10) Zitted, (11) Zot. (1) Lan. Quite content, aw'm sat at whoam, Ramsbottom Rhymes (1864) 12. (2) e.Yks.1, w.Yks.3 (3) w.Yks.3 (4) Lan. Then having set awhile after in the family, I read a portion of Scripture, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 2. (5) Lnk. He... had sit down in a fur among his own corn, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 109, ed. 1828. w.Yks.2, s.Lan.1 (6) Sc. We little thought to hae sitten doun wi' the like o'... you, Scott Midlothian (1818) iv. Bnff.1, Nhb.1, Lakel.2, Cum.1 Cum.4, n.Yks.2, e.Yks.1 m.Yks.1 Introd. 39. w.Yks.1 w.Yks.2 w.Yks.5 (s.v. Shotten). ne.Lan.1, e.Lan.1, s.Lan.1, Chs.1 Chs.3, s.Chs.1, nw.Der.1 Shr.1 Gram. Outlines, 54. (7) Lei.1, War.2 War.3 Shr.1 Gram. Outlines, 54. Ess. They down had snugly sot, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 138. w.Som.1 Dev. The craws hev sot on es shoulder, Norway Parson Peter (1900) 50. (8) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 208. Slk. Gin they should a' hae sutten down on their knees, Hogg Tales (1838) 71, ed. 1866. Shr.1 Gram. Outlines, 54. (9) Edb. Whare An hour I suttin hae Carousin', Learmont Poems (1791) 81. (10) Dev. Pulman Sketches (1842) 54, ed. 1853. (11) Som. Zomebody must ha' zot on un, Raymond Gent. Upcott (1893) 22. II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In comb. with prep. or adv.: (1) Sit down, (a) to settle, become established; to continue; of the weather: to become calm or settled; (b) to become bankrupt; (2) Sit down to, to submit to; to suffer without complaint; (3) Sit in, (a) to sit to the table; to draw in; (b) to adhere; (4) Sit on, (a) to remain, continue to abide; (b) of food: to stick to the pan in cooking; to burn; (5) Sit out, to project, stick out; (6) Sit over, to sit closer together so as to make room for another; to sit down to table; (7) Sit to, (a) to settle down to, set in for; (b) see (4, b); (8) Sit under, to attend regularly the ministry of any particular preacher at church or chapel; (9) Sit up, (a) to court, woo, esp. to sit up at night with a woman during courtship; (b) to keep watch over a corpse at night; (c) to enrage, vex; (d) to suffer; (e) to become careless in regard to one's religious profession or duties; (10) Sit upon, (a) to sit near, draw up to; (b) to fit, become; (11) Sit with, to disregard, endure, put up with. (1, a) Sc. Is the frost to sit down, think ye? (Jam.); It's no' a canny thing to let a cauld get sutten doon on an auld body, Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) ix. Bnff.1 Applied to a storm; as, ‘A think the weather's gain' t' sit-doon;’ and to the sea. Abd. I did not think it richt that he sud be latt'n sit doon amon's as a neebour onbeen enterteen't, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 139. Slk. The rime had sitten down, Hogg Tales (1838) 70, ed. 1866. Don. The girl that sits down in Pathrick's 'll find she hasn't made a mistake, Pearson's Mag. (Mar. 1900) 311. (b) Abd. Fa wud a' thocht o' Sawney Mutch sittin' doon noo! Alexander Ain Flk.: (1882) 121. (2) Midl. It wasn't likely that he would sit down to it (I.W.). (3, a) Sc. Sit in and help yourself, Lawson Sacrifice (1892) 41. nw.Abd. Ye're unco far ootby; Jist sit in to the fire, Goodwife (1867) st. 18. (b) w.Yks.1 To adhere, as any extraneous matter does in a recent wound. (4, a) Sc. Are ye to sit on the year? (Jam.) (b) Nhb.1 When a dumpling, hasty pudding, potatoes, &c., have sitten on to the bottom of the pan in which they are boiled, Oliver Rambles (1835) 131. w.Yks. Common (J.W.); w.Yks.1 (5) Dev. 'Pon buttress stout, That vrom ez zides var zitted out, Pulman Sketches (1842) 54, ed. 1853. (6) s.Lan.1 (7, a) Frf. It's sitting to snaw, Barrie Minister (1891) x. (b) Sc. Dinna let the kail sit to (Jam.). (8) Sc. I'm overly old to sit under a halflin laddie, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 12. ne.Sc. I've been sittin' under him for twenty years, Grant Keckleton, 186. Per. That comes o' sittin' under a moderate minister! Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 66, ed. 1887. Dmf. I wudna sit under sick a toomhead, Ponder Kirkcumdoon (1875) 10. Lin.1 n.Lin.1 We sit under Christ'n minister 'at preäches the real gospel. Oxf.1 I sits under Mr. Jones, MS. add. Suf. I sot under a number o' prachers, Raven Hist. Suf. (1895) 260. (9, a) Lakel.2 He'd bin sitten his heart's desire up fer years an' nivver hardly spokken. Cum.4 The custom being for the lad to sit up with the lass, W. C. T. H. (1893) 6, col. 2 (s.v. Rig-reap). s.Lan.1 They were sittin-up t'gether, 22. [Amer. Sarah Ann is sitting up with a young man, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 424.] (b) Sc. The friends and neighbours took their turn at ‘sittin' up wi' the corpse,’ and were provided with a candle, a Bible, and a bottle of whisky, Ford Thistledown (1891) 253. Nhb.1 A custom yet observed. (c) Yks. He's best off who's not bothered wi' no women koind, they sa sane git sit oop, Fetherston T. Goorkrodger (1870) 5. (d) Lakel.2 Thoo'll sit-up fer that efter a bit. w.Yks. (J.W.) (e) Sc. Even professors sat up, shirped away and cryned into a shadow, McWard Contendings (1723) 146 (Jam.). (10, a) Sc. I remember asking her to come and sit upon the fire, Ramsay Remin. (1859) 100. (b) Dmf. As though jack and boot sat upon me no less aptly than threshie-coat and brogues, Hamilton Mawkin (1898) 207. (11) Sc. God will not sit with all the wrongs done to Him, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 10, ed. 1871. 2. Phr. (1) as well sit teum as run teum, to make the best of a bad bargain instead of worrying over it; (2) deil sit athin, an imprecation: ‘devil take’; (3) sit ye merry, a phr. used at the end of a song; (4) to let that hare or hen sit a bit, to wait for a better opportunity before saying or doing anything; (5) to sit awhile, to pay an evening visit; (6) sit down off one's feet, (7) sit down one's way(s, to sit down, be seated; (8) sit eggs, to sit too long in a neighbour's house; to outstay one's welcome; (9) sit fling, see below; (10) sit for glory, see below; (11) sit ill to one's meat, to sit inconveniently at table; fig. to be ill-kept, ill-fed; (12) sit in the sun, to be tipsy, to become intoxicated; (13) sit near the door, a tailoring term: to take big stitches to make up for lost time; (14) sit on another's coat-tail or lap, to be dependent on another; to be helped by another; to sponge upon; (15) sit on one's knees, to kneel, remain kneeling; (16) sit over end, to sit in an upright position; to sit up in bed; (17) sit the or one's market, to expect too much and thereby lose an opportunity; (18) sit the stool, to sit on the stool of repentance; (19) sit to the bottom, of food: to stick to the side of the pan in cooking; to burn; (20) sit upon coals, to be very anxious or restless; (21) sit up on end, see (16). (1) Cum.4 (s.v. Run). (2) Sh.I. Deil sit athin dat hands, Ollason Mareel (1901) 16. (3) e.An.1 (4) Wm. (B.K.) (5) Cai.1 (6) N.I.1 (7) Edb. Sit down your wa', ─ mak' this your hame, Macaulay Poems (1788) 139. (8) w.Yks.1 (9) e.Yks. Should any one boast of his horsemanship, he is quietly asked if he can ‘sit fling,’ Nicholson Flk. Sp. (1889) 5. (10) Lon. Sitting for glory... is a ceremony in which an engaged couple sit in a drawing-room and receive the congratulations of their friends, Dy. Telegraph (Jan. 25, 1902) 7, col. 7. (11) Sc. ‘Nothing makes a man sooner old like than sitting ill to his meat.’ Spoken when people sit inconveniently at table, Kelly Prov. (1721) 264-5; (Jam.) (12) Glo. (H.S.H.) (13) Lnk. Tam the while sat near the door, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 28. (14) Sc. (Jam.) w.Cum. Bob, 'at hed sitten two or three days, owder on sumboddy's cwoat lap, Farrall Betty Wilson (1876) 7. (15) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), n.Yks.1 (16) e.Yks. Do you think you can manage to sit ower end if I get you up? (B.K.); I'se sat ower end in this ere chair for eighteen year, Flit & Ko Suddaby Fewster, 175. (17) Edb. Ye may sit your market, ma lassie, like a wheen mair I ken o', Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Mar. 8, 1902). Nhb.1 ‘I doubt she has sat her market.’ Said of a girl too particular in her choice and therefore not likely to be married. (18) Abd. Ilk ither Sunday some wad sit the stool, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 68. (19) Cum.1 Cum.4, w.Yks. (J.W.) (20) Sh.I. I tell'd wir folk at I widna be lang furt, an' ye ken dey'll juist sit apo' cols till I come, Sh. News (Feb. 19, 1898); (J.S.) (21) n.Yks.1 ‘Matched to sit up on end;’ of a person suffering from weakness; n.Yks.4 He's sitting up on end in bed. sw.Lin.1 She wanted to sit up, but Doctor said she'd better sit up on end a bit first. 3. Comb. (1) Sit-fast, (a) a sot, one who sits long over his drink; (b) a hard substance formed in a wound or sore; a hard swelling; a gathering; (c) a large stone fast in the earth; (d) the creeping crowfoot, Ranunculus repens; (e) the rest-harrow, Ononis arvensis; (2) Sit-house, a place of habitation as distinguished from a house appropriated to some other purpose; (3) Sit-sicker, (a) the upright crowfoot, Ranunculus acris; (b) the corn-field crowfoot, Ranunculus arvensis; (4) Sit-still-nest, ordure, dung. (1, a) w.Yks.1 (b) Nhb.1 He'd a sitfast in iv his hand. n.Yks.1 n.Yks.2 n.Yks.4, ne.Yks.1, m.Yks.1 w.Yks. An aggravated wound caused by the stocking or other woollen material coming into close contact with the raw flesh (H.L.); w.Yks.1; w.Yks.2 He's got a sit-fast in his arm. ne.Lan.1 [It is open to question whether a warbly back or even a sitfast would be such unsoundness as to constitute breach of warranty, Sat. Review (1887) LXIV. 707.] (c) Bwk. In many situations of this county improvable land is, or has lately been, much encumbered by such stones. These are sometimes large nodules or irregularly shaped masses of whin, trap, basalt, or granite, either appearing above the surface or discovered by the plough, and are called sitfasts, Agric. Surv. 380 (Jam.); Some are even of many hundredweights, and are called sitfasts, Agric. Surv. 35. (d) Dmf. Garden Work (1896) No. cxiv. 112. N.I.1 (e) Lnk. (Jam.) (2) Fif., Lth. What should be the form of a sit-house, barn, bire, stable, with corn and kitchen-yards? Maxwell Sel. Trans. (1743) 437 (Jam.). (3, a) Cld., Rnf. (Jam.) (b) Slg. The Ranunculus arvensis, .. or sit-sicker, as it is here called, is very common, very hurtful, and very difficult to extirpate, Agric. Surv. 131 (JAM.). (4) Lan. (Hall.) 4. To lie, remain; to continue in the same position. Sc. The book is sitting on the table, Glasgow Herald (Apr. 3, 1899). Abd. Dinna lay a finger upo' them... Na, na, lat them sit, MacDonald R. Falconer (1868) 34. Dmf. Applied to any piece of crockery or furniture, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 353. w.Yks. (J.W.) 5. To continue to occupy a farm or house; not to move; to remain during a lease. Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Neebour's roun', whan Robin teuk it, Swore he wadna sit his lease, Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 36. Dmb. Flitt wha like, and sit wha like, I'll flitt, Cross Disruption (1844) xxxviii. Edb. May a' her tenants sit fu' snug and bein, Fergusson Poems (1773) 163. ed. 1785. Gall. He sits rent free (A.W.). 6. To cease to grow; to become stunted. Cf. set, v. 26. Sc. Applied both to animals and vegetables (Jam.). 7. Of food: to be easily digested; to agree with one. Cf. set, v. 47. s.Chs.1 Pol·i, eyŭr)z sŭm ky'aay·kùmbŭrz iv dhai)n sit wi yŭ. [Had a cheesecake (3d.) by the way, which being better than ordinary, 1d. more price, did not sit so easy, being buttery, Byrom Remin. (1737), in Cheth. Soc. Publ. XL. 122.] 8. Of the moon: to be past the full; to be invisible during the ‘interlunium.’ s.Not. It'll be dark for yer to-night; the moon sits (J.P.K.). Lei.1 The moon sits; it will be dark to-night. Nhp.1, Hnt. (T.P.F.) 9. Of a building: to sink, settle. Sc. As when a wall sinks or falls down in consequence of the softness of the foundation (Jam.). 10. Of milk, &c.: to adhere to the side of the pan when boiling; to burn. Cf. pot-sitten, s.v. Pot, sb.1 17 (70, a). w.Yks.2 That milk has sit. e.Lan.1, s.Lan.1 11. To seat; gen. in phr. to sit one down, to sit down, seat oneself. Cf. set, v. 4. Abd. He sits him down upo' the bink, Beattie Parings (1801) 24, ed. 1873. Per. Come in, gudewife, an' sit ye down, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 230. Lnk. Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 94. Lth. Sic a back!.. It sat oor gude sire's bairns fairly, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 104. Bwk. Here I sit me doon, Chisholm Poems (1879) 102. Gall. He sat hissel doon on a cairn, Gallovidian (1901) III. 71. n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. He was sat by t'fire, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882); w.Yks.5 Sar him darn to rest a bit. s.Lan.1 He wur sit on a cheer. Not. Sit yer down. The lads mun stand, Prior Renie (1895) 329. s.Not. Who to'd yer to sit yer theer? (J.P.K.) Som. You'll sit yourself down somewhere in the shade, Raymond No Soul (1899) 6. e.Dev. Sitee down, Jane Lordship (1897) 81. 12. To set. Sc. They sat us down at the Star Inn, Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 78. Yks. They sat off again i' t'morning, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) xix. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. A've sat the sage-tree (J.P.K.). w.Som.1 Be you comin to zee me zit the sponge umbye night? Dev. ‘I'll zit ee gwine,’ I will accompany you a short distance on your journey, Pulman Sketches (1842) Gl., ed. 1853. nw.Dev.1 13. To ignore, set aside, disregard; to decline; to disobey. Sc. He durst not sit God's call to that work, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 224, ed. 1871; It implieth that very few who sit the offer until then are honoured with repentance, Guthrie Trial (1755) 82-3 (Jam.). Abd. They sat this charge, and nothing followed thereupon, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 150. Bwk. ‘Ritchie! come in, and blaw the bellows;’ I sat that bidding, but I've rued it ay sin syne, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 43. s.Don. ‘Sit a summons,’ to disobey a summons by neglecting to appear in court, Simmons Gl. (1890). Nhb.1 To sit a biddin. 14. To burn food in cooking. Cf. set, v. 42. w.Yks.2 Thah's sitten t'porridge ageean. Der.1 15. To woo, court, ‘keep company with’; to sit up with one's sweetheart during the night when courting. Cf. sitting up, s.v. Sitting, 1 (3, a). w.Yks. It is said that a young man is ‘sitting a young woman,’ N. & Q. (1851) 1st S. iv. 43; w.Yks.1 ne.Lan.1 James T. is sitting our Betty. 16. To fit, suit, become. Cf. set, v. 44. Sc. As for the rapier it sits wi' your degree, Stevenson Catriona (1893) i; ‘It sits ye weel’ is said ironically of a person who attempts what is beyond his power or position (Jam. Suppl.). N.Cy.1 Most frequently ironical, as ‘It sits him weel indeed’ is said of a person who arrogates to himself more than is thought proper. Nhb.1 The coat sits him weel. 17. To get equal with. Cf. set, v. 45. Lakel.2 Noo if thoo can sit t'auld horse brecker thoo's nobbut anudder ta sit. ne.Lan.1 I can't sit him. 18. sb. In phr. better (to) rue sit than rue flit, it is better to stay on in a place than to move and repent it. Sh.I. Hit's better ta roo-sit den roo-flit, Sh. News (Apr. 9, 1898); Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 209. 19. The fit of a garment. Nhb.1 Aa dinna like the sit o' yor goon; it wants a tuck anunder the oxter. 20. Of a wall: the state of sinking. Sc. (Jam.)