settee

• IPA^(key): /sɛˈtiː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iː

Unclear, possibly from settle (“seat, long bench”) +‎ -ee (diminutive suffix).

settee (plural settees)

1. (UK, Texas) A long seat with a back, made to accommodate several persons at once; a sofa.
   • 1954, Alexander Alderson, chapter 18, in The Subtle Minotaur‎^[1]:

     The lounge was furnished in old English oak and big Knole settees. There were rugs from Tabriz and Kerman on the highly polished floor. […] A table lamp was fashioned from a silver Egyptian hookah.

   • 2022 July 12, Stefani Robinson & Paul Simms, “Reunited” (9:01 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows‎^[2], season 4, episode 1:

     “You might have to calm this down, my darling. I'm not sure this settee can take it.” “This settee has taken centuries of our love.”

• loveseat
• couch
• divan
• sofa

From French scétie, scitie.

settee (plural settees)

1. A vessel with a very long, sharp prow, carrying two or three masts with lateen sails, used in the Mediterranean.

• setee

• testee