seoir

French

Alternative forms

  • soir (post-1990 spelling)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French seoir, from Old French seoir, from earlier sedeir, from Latin sedēre, from Proto-Italic *sedēō, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /swaʁ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Homophone: soir
  • Rhymes: -waʁ

Verb

seoir (defective)

  1. (literary) to be suitable for; to be proper for
    • 1640, Pierre Corneille, Horace, act I, scene I:
      L'ébranlement sied bien aux plus fermes courages
      To waver is fitting for those of firmest courage
  2. (law) to be situated
  3. (dated or literary) sit down (see also s’asseoir)
    • 1785, Jean Baptiste Rousseau, Annales poétique depuis l’origine de la poésie françoise, Tome 33‎[1], page 225:
      Au carabet, lorſque je ſis à table,
      Je ne bois qu’à ma ſoif, & que le cœur m’en dit:
      Mais quand Margot me tient au lit,
      Tout-ci, tout-ca,
      Par-ci, par-là !
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1848, Honoré de Balzac, L’Envers de l’Histoire contemporaine, premier épisode:
      Les trois personnages se levèrent, la maîtresse de la maison se leva ; puis quand le prêtre eut avancé pour Godefroid un fauteuil, quand le futur locataire se fut assis sur un geste de Mme de La Chanterie, accompagné de ce vieux mot : « Seyez-vous, monsieur ! » le Parisien se crut à une énorme distance de Paris, en Basse-Bretagne, ou au fond du Canada.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

Conjugation of seoir (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple seoir
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple séant or seyant
compound ayant + past participle
past participle sis
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present sieds sieds sied seyons seyez siéent
imperfect seyais seyais seyait seyions seyiez seyaient
past historic2 sis sis sit sîmes sîtes sirent
future siérai siéras siéra siérons siérez siéront
conditional siérais siérais siérait siérions siériez siéraient
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present siée siées siée — — siéent
imperfect2 — — — — — —
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — sieds — seyons seyez —
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
past historic → present perfect
past anterior → pluperfect
imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).


Further reading

Anagrams

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French seoir, from earlier sedeir, from Latin sedēre.

Verb

seoir

  1. to be; to be situated
    • c. 1369, Jean Froissart, Chroniques:
      Vous devés savoir que assés près de la ou ils estoient, siet la ville de Iuberot
      You should know that quite close to there where they were, is the city of Juberot
  2. (reflexive, se seoir) to sit down (be sitting)

Old French

Etymology

From an earlier sedeir, from Latin sedēre.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /səˈoi̯ɾ/

Verb

seoir

  1. (transitive) to sit (make someone sit)
  2. (reflexive, se seoir) to sit down

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has a stressed present stem sie distinct from the unstressed stem se, as well as other irregularities. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of seoir (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive seoir avoir sis
gerund en seant gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle seant
past participle sis
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses 		present sié siez siet seons seez sieent
imperfect seoie, seeie seoies, seeies seoit, seeit seïiens, seïens seïiez, seïez seoient, seeient
preterite sis seṣis sist seṣimes seṣistes sisdrent
future serrai serras serra serrons serroiz, serreiz, serrez serront
conditional serroie, serreie serroies, serreies serroit, serreit serriiens, serriens serriiez, serriez serroient, serreient
compound
tenses 		present perfect present tense of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
past anterior preterite tense of avoir + past participle
future perfect future tense of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses 		present siee, sië siees, siës siee, sië seons, seiiens, seions seez, seiiez sieent, siënt
imperfect seṣisse seṣisses seṣist seṣissons, seṣissiens seṣissoiz, seṣissez, seṣissiez seṣissent
compound
tenses 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— sie — seons seez —

Descendants

  • Middle French: seoir
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