Origin and history of sediment

sediment(n.)

1540s, "matter which settles by gravity to the bottom of water or other liquid," from French sédiment (16c.) and directly from Latin sedimentum "a settling, sinking down, subsidence," from stem of sedere "to settle, sit" (from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit"). Especially in geology after 1680s.

also from 1540s

Entries linking to sediment

sedimentary(adj.)

1760, "pertaining to or of the nature of dregs or sediment; precipitated by gravitation from a liquid;" see sediment + -ary. Sedimentary rock in geology is that formed by deposition of material previously suspended in water," attested by 1814.

Sedimental (adj.) "pertaining to dregs" is recorded from c. 1600 and might have lived long enough for a *sedimental journey pun but didn't.

sedimentation(n.)

"the deposition of sediments," 1845; see sediment + -ation, ending used in forming nouns of action. The uncommon verb sediment is attested only from 1899 and could be a back-formation.

*sed-(1)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to sit."

It might form all or part of: assess; assiduous; assiento; assize; banshee; beset; cathedra; cathedral; chair; cosset; dissident; dodecahedron; Eisteddfod; ephedra; ephedrine; ersatz; icosahedron; inset; insidious; nest; niche; nick (n.) "notch, groove, slit;" nidicolous; nidification; nidus; obsess; octahedron; piezo-; piezoelectric; polyhedron; possess; preside; reside; saddle; sanhedrim; seance; seat; sedan; sedate; (adj.) "calm, quiet;" sedative; sedentary; sederunt; sediment; see (n.) "throne of a bishop, archbishop, or pope;" sessile; session; set (v.); sett; settle (n.); settle (v.); siege; sit; sitz-bath; sitzkrieg; size; soil (n.1) "earth, dirt;" Somerset; soot; subside; subsidy; supersede; surcease; tanist; tetrahedron; Upanishad.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit a-sadat "sat down," sidati "sits," nidah "resting place, nest;" Old Persian hadis "abode;" Greek ezesthai "to sit," hedra "seat, chair, face of a geometric solid;" Latin sedere "to sit; occupy an official seat, preside; sit still, remain; be fixed or settled," nidus "nest;" Old Irish suide "seat, sitting," net "nest;" Welsh sedd "seat," eistedd "sitting," nyth "nest;" Old Church Slavonic sežda, sedeti "to sit," sedlo "saddle," gnezdo "nest;" Lithuanian sėdėti "to sit;" Russian sad "garden," Lithuanian sodinti "to plant;" Gothic sitan, Old English sittan "to sit."