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• sitter
  sitter

  noun

  a person who sits.
• Sitter
  Sitter

  noun

  Willem de 1872–1934, Dutch astronomer and mathematician.

sitter

¹ American  

[sit-er] / ˈsɪt ər /

noun

1. a person who sits.

2. a brooding hen.

3. a person who stays with young children while the parents go out; baby-sitter.

4. a person who provides routine or custodial care temporarily or part-time, as for an elderly person or a pet whose owner is on vacation.

5. Slang. the buttocks; rump.

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Sitter ² American  

[sit-er] / ˈsɪt ər /

noun

1. Willem de 1872–1934, Dutch astronomer and mathematician.

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sitter ¹ British  

/ ˈsɪtə /

noun

1. a person or animal that sits

2. a person who is posing for his or her portrait to be painted, carved, etc

3. a broody hen or other bird that is sitting on its eggs to hatch them

4. (in combination) a person who looks after a specified person or thing for someone else

   flat-sitter

5. short for baby-sitter

6. anyone, other than the medium, taking part in a seance

7. anything that is extremely easy, such as an easy catch in cricket

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Sitter ² British  

/ ˈsɪtə /

noun

1. Willem de (ˈwɪləm də). 1872–1934, Dutch astronomer, who calculated the size of the universe and conceived of it as expanding

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Etymology

Origin of sitter

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; see origin at sit ¹, -er ¹

Explanation

Don’t squash the children! A sitter can be anyone who sits — in a chair, on the floor, or anywhere else — but it’s often short for babysitter. They don’t actually sit on the babies, though. We hope. In addition to the person who sits or models for an oil painter, a sitter can also be someone who watches children as a paid job. It's short for babysitter: "Good news, guys, we're having the nice sitter tonight, the one who lets us stay up past bedtime!" The origin of sitter and babysitter isn't completely clear, but some experts guess the sit part comes from birds sitting on their eggs before they hatch.

Example Sentences

Zakrzewski worked as a professional nanny, branding himself as “the original Sitter Buddy” on his website.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2023

Their paper 'Static Black Binaries in de Sitter Space' is published in the journal Physical Review Letters and reviewed as a Viewpoint article.

From Science Daily • Oct. 19, 2023

Bennett came from a small town himself, and this season he's back to a fictional one for the new Hallmark Channel Christmas film "The Holiday Sitter."

From Salon • Dec. 11, 2022

“We don’t live in anti–de Sitter space,” Susskind says.

From Scientific American • Jan. 18, 2022

I think a three-quarter face is better that a Full; for one reason, that I think the Sitter feels more at ease looking somewhat away, rather than direct at the luminous Machine. 

From Letters of Edward FitzGerald to Fanny Kemble (1871-1883) by Wright, William Aldis

Related Words

• curator
• keeper
• overseer
• protector
• steward
• superintendent
• supervisor
• warden
• watchdog