sedan

[si-dan]

See more synonyms for sedan on Thesaurus.com

noun

an enclosed automobile body having two or four doors and seating four or more persons on two full-width seats.
sedan chair.

Origin of sedan

First recorded in 1625–35; of obscure origin

Sedan

[si-dan; French suh-dahn]

noun

a city in NE France, on the Meuse River: defeat and capture of Napoleon III 1870.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for sedan

transportation, auto, van, truck, bus, convertible, taxi, limousine, wagon, ride, machine, pickup, motor, automobile, jeep, compact, lemon, wreck, buggy, crate

Examples from the Web for sedan

Contemporary Examples of sedan

Hoech approached the line of police and SWAT vehicles in his sedan late Tuesday, turned around, and parked.
'Go Ahead and Shoot Me': The Veteran Who Defied Ferguson's Cops
Justin Glawe
August 13, 2014
Early Thursday morning, a sedan ran over a crowd of people outside of the Mohawk in Downtown Austin, Texas, during SXSW.
Car Crashes Into Crowd at SXSW, 23 People Transported to Hospital, Multiple Fatalities
Marlow Stern
March 13, 2014
The Infiniti sedan then made a right turn toward the West Front of the Capitol.
Notes From a Shootout
Ben Jacobs
October 3, 2013
We could see the big crumpled Mercedes sedan, but not very well.
The Night Princess Diana Died
Christopher Dickey
August 31, 2013
The Sunseeker has the wingspan of a 747 and a body the same size as a sedan.
Solar Plane That Can Fly Day and Night Takes Off
Miranda Green
May 3, 2013

Historical Examples of sedan

It is the evening of Sedan, the most momentous victory of the century.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
Above all, they still remained an army: they had not yet found their Sedan.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
I was sent for by the Count to Sedan to tell him the state of Paris.
The Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz, Complete
Jean Francois Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz
In the fierce fighting at Sedan, each in turn saved the other's life.
A Zola Dictionary
J. G. Patterson
Your sister lives in Sedan, you say; perhaps we shall be there before long.
The Downfall
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for sedan

sedan

noun

US, Canadian and NZ a closed two-door or four-door car with four to six seatsAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): saloon
short for sedan chair

Word Origin for sedan

C17: of uncertain origin; compare Latin sēdēs seat

Sedan

noun

a town in NE France, on the River Meuse: passed to France in 1642; a Protestant stronghold (16th–17th centuries); scene of a French defeat (1870) during the Franco-Prussian War and of a battle (1940) in World War II, which began the German invasion of France. Pop: 20 548 (1999)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sedan

1630s, "covered chair on poles," possibly from a southern Italian dialect derivative of Italian sede "chair" (cf. Italian seggietta, 1590s; the thing itself was said to have been introduced from Naples), from Latin sedes, related to sedere "sit" (see sedentary). Since Johnson's conjecture, often derived from the town of Sedan in France, where it was said to have been made or first used, but historical evidence for this is lacking.

Introduced in England by Sir Sanders Duncombe in 1634 and first called a covered chair. "In Paris the sedan-chair man was usually an Auvergnat, in London an Irishman" ["Encyclopaedia Britannica," 1929]. Meaning "closed automobile seating four or more" first recorded 1912, American English.