sitte 
sittet, '' An obsolete spelling of fit. 
Sittella (si-tel'a), n. [NL. (Swainson, 1837), < 
xitttt 4- dim. -el'la.] An Australian and Papuan 
genus of small creeping birds belonging or re- 
ferred to the Sittillsi. S. chnjsoptera, leucoptera, leu- 
cocephalti, pileata, tenuirostris, and striata inhabit Austra 
Ha; 5. papuennis is found in New Guinea. 
sitten (sit'n). An obsolete, archaic, or dia- 
lectal past participle of sit Sitten on, stunted in 
stature. Halliicell. 
sitter (sit'er), it. [< ME. syttare; < sit + -)!.] 
One who or that which sits, (a) One who occupies 
a seat, or has a sitting posture. 
The two rooms midway were filled with titters taking 
the evening breeze. C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 34. 
(fc) A brooding or incubating bird. 
The oldest hens are reckoned the best sitters. 
M&rtitner, Husbandry. 
(c) One who takes a certain posture, position, or course in 
order to a particular end ; specifically, one who poses to an 
artist for a portrait, bust, or the like. 
How many times did Olive's next door neighbor, little 
Mr. Finch, the miniature painter, run to peep through his 
parlour blinds, hoping that a sitter was coming ! 
Thackeray, Newcomes, xliii. 
Sitter up, one who sits up. See to tit up, under sit. (a) 
One who stays up late at night. 
They were men of boisterous spirits, sitters up a-nights. 
Lamb, Confessions of a Drunkard. 
(6) One who watches during the night. 
There's them can pay for hospitals and nurses for half 
the country-side choose to be sitters-up night and day. 
George Eliot, M iddlemarch, Ixxi. 
Sittidse (sit'i-de), M. pi. [NL., < Sitta + -idx.] 
A family of birds, named from the genus Sitta. 
See Sittiiix. 
Sittinse(si-ti'ne), ii.pl. [NL., < Sitta + -ime.] 1. 
The Sittidse as a subfamily of Par idee or of Certh i- 
idx. 2. A subfamily of Sittidee, chiefly repre- 
sented by the genus-SVHn; the nuthatches proper. 
They have the bill straight, slender, tapering, and acute, 
about as long as the head, and hard, fitted for tapping 
wood ; rounded nostrils, concealed by bristly tufts ; long, 
pointed wings with ten primaries, of which the first is 
spurious ; short square tail with twelve broad soft fea- 
thers not used in climbing; small feet, with scutellate 
tarsi and strong curved claws adapted for clinging to 
trees. The Sittiiue are among the most nimble and adroit 
of scansorial birds, able to scramble about trees in every 
attitude without using the tail as a means of support. 
They are insectivorous, and also feed on small hard fruits ; 
and they nest in holes, laying many white eggs with red- 
dish speckles. See cuts under nuthatch and Sitta. 
sittine (sit'in), a. [< NL. Sitta + -ine 1 .] Re- 
sembling or related to a nuthatch; of or per- 
taining to the Sittiuae. 
Sitting (sit'ing), . [< ME. sittinge, syttinge, 
syttynge; verbal n. of sit, v.] 1. A meeting of 
a body for the discussion or transaction of busi- 
ness ; an official session. 
Hastings rose, declared the sitting at an end, and left 
the room. Macaulay, Warren Hastings. 
2. The interval during which, at any one time, 
one sits; specifically, such a period during 
which one sits for an artist to take a portrait, 
model a bust, etc.; hence, generally, any one 
limited portion of time. 
I shall never see my gold again : fourscore ducats at a 
sittiny! fourscore ducats! Shak., M. of V., iii. 1. 117. 
Few good pictures have been finished at one sitting. 
Dryden. 
3. An incubation; a brooding, as of a hen 
upon eggs ; also, the time for brooding, or dur- 
ing which a bird broods. 
In the somer seson whane sittinffe nyeth, . . . 
This brid [partridge] be a bank bildith his nest. 
Richard the Reddest, ill. 39. 
Whilst the hen is covering her eggs the male . . . 
amuses and diverts her with his songs during the whole 
time of her sitting. Addteon, Spectator, No. 128. 
4. The number of eggs on which a bird sits 
during a single hatching; a clutch. 5. The 
place where one sits ; a seat ; specifically, a 
space sufficient for one person in a pew of a 
church, or the right to such a seat. 
There is a resident rector, . . . [and] the church is en- 
larged by at least five hundred sittings. 
George Eliot, Janet's Repentance, il. 
6f. Settlement ; place of abode ; seat. 
In that Cytee [Samaria] was the st/ttinges of the 12 
Tribes of Israel. Mandevitte, Travels, p. lOtt. 
7. In Jiiif/. lair, the part of the year in which 
judicial business is transacted. See Easter 
term, under Easter 1 , and Trinity term, Michael- 
mas term, and Hilary term, under term. 8. In 
the Society of Friends, an occasion of family 
worship, especially when a minister is a guest. 
We were favoured with a very good family sitting after 
breakfast. ... I had to minister to them all, and to pray 
earnestly for them. 
J. J. Gurnet/, Journal, 8th mo., 8th, 1841. 
A sitting In bane. See bam. 
5661 
Sitting (sit'iug), }>. a. [< ME. xittynye, ppr. of 
sit. Cf. sittiinil.] 1. Pertaining to or charac- 
teristic of a sitter: as, a sitting posture. 2. In 
bot., sessile that is, without petiole, peduncle, 
or pedicel, etc. 3f. Befitting; suitable; be- 
coming. 
This lecheeraft, or heled thus to be, 
Were wel sittynye, if that I were a fend, 
To trayseu a wight that trewe is unto me. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 437. 
Sittinglyt, adc. [Early mod. E. sytti/ng/y; < 
sitting + -//;. Cf.sittanaly.] Befittingly; be- 
comingly; suitably. 
Sitting-room (sit'ing-rom), . 1. Sufficient 
space for sitting in : as, sitting-room could not 
be got in the hall. 2. A room in which people 
sit; in many houses, the parlor or room most 
commonly occupied by the family. 
He expected to find the sitting-room as he left It, with 
nothing to meet his eyes but Milly's work-basket in the 
corner of the sofa, and the children's toys overturned in 
the bow-window. George Eliot, Amos Barton, viii. 
situate (sit'u-at), v. t. ; pret. and pp. situated, 
ppr. situating. [Formerly also, erroneously, 
scitnate; < LL. situati/s, pp. of (ML.) silmirt 
(> It. situare = Sp. Pg. Pr. situar = F. situer), 
locate, place, < L. situs (situ-), a site : see site 2 .'] 
1. To give a site or position to ; place (among 
specified surroundings) ; locate. [Rarely used 
except in the passive or past participle.] 
If this world had not been formed, it is more than prob- 
able that this renowned island, on which is situated the 
city of New York, would never have had an existence. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 42. 
A few public men of small ability are introduced, to 
show better the proportions of the great; as a painter 
would situate a beggar under a triumphal arch. 
Landor, Works, II. (Author to Header of Imag. Conv.). 
2. To place in a particular state or condition ; 
involve in specified relations; subject to cer- 
tain circumstances: as, to be uncomfortably 
rituated, 
We are reformers born radical reformers ; and it was 
impossible for me to live in the same town with Crims- 
worth, to come into weekly contact with him, to witness 
some of his conduct to you . . . I say it was impossible 
for me to be thus situated, and not feel the angel or the 
demon of my race at work within me. 
Charlotte Bronte, The Professor, vi. 
situate (sit'u-at), a. [Formerly also, errone- 
ously, scituaie; < LL. sitiiatus, pp. of (ML.) situ- 
are, locate, place : see situate, v.] Placed, with 
reference to surroundings; located; situated. 
[Archaic.] 
There 's nothing situate under heaven's eye 
But hath his bound, in earth, in sea, in sky. 
Shale., C. of E., ii. 1. 16. 
Physic, taking it according to the derivation, and not 
according to our idiom for medicine, is situate in a middle 
term or distance between natural history and metaphysic. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 
Earth hath this variety from heaven 
Of pleasure situate in hill and dale. 
Milton, P. L., vi. 641. 
Bergen was well situate upon a little stream which con- 
nected it with the tide-waters of the Scheldt. 
Motley, Hist. .Netherlands, II. 537. 
situation (sit-u-a'shon), 11. [< F. situation = 
Sp. situacion = Pg. situaftto = It. situazione, < 
ML. situatio(n-), position, situation, < situare, 
pp. sititatus, situate: see situate.] 1. Local 
position; location. 
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is 
mount Zion. Ps. xlviii. 2. 
It were of use to inform himself, before he undertakes 
his voyage, by the best chorographical and geographical 
map, of the situation of the country he goes to. 
E. Leigh (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 646). 
2. The place which a person or thing occupies. 
At once, as far as angels ken, he views 
The dismal situation waste and wild : 
A dungeon horrible on all sides round. 
Milton, P. L., i. 60. 
The situation [of Samaria] as a whole is far more beauti- 
ful than that of Jerusalem, though not so grand and wild. 
Encyc. Brit., XXI. 243. 
3. Position with reference to circumstances; 
set of relations ; condition ; state. 
To be so tickled, they would change their state 
And situation with those dancing chips, 
O'er whom thy fingers walk with gentle gait 
Shak., Sonnets, cxxvili. 
Love, you see, is not so much a Sentiment as a Situa- 
tion, into which a man enters, as ... into a corps. No 
matter whether he loves the service or no ; being once in 
it, he acts as if he did. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, viii. 34. 
4. A group of circumstances ; a posture of af- 
fairs ; specifically, in theatrical art, a crisis or 
critical point in the action of a play. 
This will be delivered to you, I expect, by Col. Thrus- 
ton, from whom you will be able to receive a more cir- 
cumstantial acc'tof the situationoi affairs in this Quarter 
than can be conveyed well in a letter. 
George Washinytm, To Col. Saml Washington. 
Sivaistic 
Real situations are always pledges of a real natural lan- 
guage. De (Juiiti-t'.'i. style, i. 
The situations which most signally develop character 
form the best plot. Macaulay, Machiavelli. 
5. A post of employment ; a subordinate office ; 
a place in which one works for salary or wages. 
Hearing about this time that Sir Pitt C'rawley's family 
was in want of a governess, she actually recommended Mis* 
Sharp for the situation, firebrand and serpent as she was. 
Thackeray, Vanity fair, ii 
6. Settlement; occupation. [Rare.] 
OnMundaythey . . . marched into y land, & found di- 
verse cornfeilds & litle railing brooks, a place (as they 
supposed) fltt for situation. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 88. 
= Svn. 1 and 2. Site, station, post. 3. Case, plight; 
situation is relation to external objects; state and con- 
dition refer to what a person or thing is inwardly. 
Situla (sit'u-la), n. [ML. (see def. 1), also a 
liquid measure, < L. situla, a bucket, urn.] 1. 
PI. situlee (-le). Eccles., an aspersorium, or mov- 
able stoup. 2. [cap.] A very yellow star of 
magnitude 5.5, K Aquarii. 
situs (si'tus), . ; pi. situs. [L. : see site 2 .] 1. 
Situation; site. 
The future situs of the cotton manufacture of the United 
States. E. Atkinson, Pop. Sci. Ho., XXXVI. 289. 
2. In biol.,arcJiseol., etc., the proper or original 
site, place, position, or location of a part or 
organ, or of any other thing: chiefly in the 
phrase in situ, in place that is, not disturbed 
or disarranged by dissection, excavation, or 
other process of examination. 3. In laic, sit- 
uation in contemplation of law ; locality, actual 
or recognized. Thus, the forms of transfer of real 
property must conform to the law of the situs (that is, 
the jurisdiction within which the property is actually situ- 
ated) ; and when it is said that personal property has no 
situs, it is meant that for certain purposes the law refuses 
to recognize its actual situs, and inquires for the law ap- 
plicable to the person of the owner. Situs perversus, 
abnormal position of organs or parts. Situs transver- 
BU8, lateral transposition of the viscera from right to left, 
and conversely. 
sit-ye-down (sit'ye-doun'), it. [Imitative of its 
note.] The titmouse, Parus major. [Prov.Eng.] 
sitz-bath (sits'bath), n. [A partly accom. form 
of G. sitzoad, < site, a seat, + bad = E. bath.] 
1. Same as liip-batlt. 2. A tub of wood, metal, 
etc., adapted for such a bath. 
Slum (si'um), . [NL. (Rivinus, 1699), < Gr. aiov, 
a plant found in meadows and marshes.] A 
genus of umbelliferous plants, of the tribe Am- 
minese and subtribe Euanimine/t. it is character- 
ized by flowers with num erous undivided involucral bracts, 
acute calyx-teeth, and slightly notched indexed petals ; 
and by fruit with nearly equal obtuse corky or thickened 
and somewhat prominent ridges, an undivided or obsolete 
carpophore, and numerous oil-tubes or at least one to 
three to each interval. There are 6 species, including 
the genus Berula (Koch, 1837), separated from Stum by 
some on account of its nearly globose fruit with -incon- 
spicuous ribs and thick corky pericarp. They are natives 
mostly of the northern hemisphere, with one in South 
Africa, all growing chiefly in watery places. They are 
smooth herbs bearing once-pinnate leaves with toothed 
leaflets, and white flowers in terminal or lateral compound 
umbels with many-bracted involucres and involucels. 
They are known as water-parsnip. Two species occur in 
the eastern United States S. cicutsefolium and S. Carsonii 
besides Berula anyusttfolia, bymany referred here. Com- 
pare ninsi, and for S. Helenium see jellico. See cuts un- 
der inflorescence and skirret. 
Siva (se'va), . [Also Shiva, Cira; < Hind. 
Siva, < Bn.ofoa, propitious: a euphemism.] 
1. In later Hindu myth., the name of a god of 
highest rank, supreme 
god in the opinion of 
his sectaries, but also 
combined with Brah- 
ma and Vishnu in a 
triad, in which he rep- 
resents the principle 
of destruction, one of 
his principal emblems is 
the lingam or phallus, sym- 
bolical of creation which 
follows destruction ; and 
he is represented with sym- 
bols of cruelty and carnage. 
2. In ornith., a genus 
of Asiatic birds, such 
as S. cyanuroptera, S. 
strigula, and S. easta- 
iteicaitda : so named 
by Hodgson in 1838, 
and also called by him 
Hemiparus (1841) and 
Inropits (1844). The 
species inhabit the Hima- 
layan regions, and south- 
ward in Assam and Hurma to Tenasserim. The genus is 
oneof many which have been located in "families" conven- 
tionally called ^Eifithinidte, Liotrichidx, and Timeliidx. 
3. In nitom., a genus of hemipterous insects. 
Sivaistic (se-va-is'tik), a. [< Siru + -istic.] 
Of or pertaining to the worship of Siva. 
Siva. (From Moor's " Hindu 
Pantheon.") 
