sedentary

[sed-n-ter-ee] /ˈsɛd nˌtɛr i/
adjective
1.
characterized by or requiring a sitting posture:
a sedentary occupation.
2.
accustomed to sit or rest a great deal or to take little exercise.
3.
Chiefly Zoology.
  1. abiding in one place; not migratory.
  2. pertaining to animals that move about little or are permanently attached to something, as a barnacle.
Origin
1590-1600; < Latin sedentārius sitting, equivalent to sedent- (stem of sedēns, present participle of sedēre to sit1; see -ent) + -ārius -ary
Related forms
sedentarily
[sed-n-tair-uh-lee, sed-n-ter-] /ˌsɛd nˈtɛər ə li, ˈsɛd nˌtɛr-/ (Show IPA), adjective
sedentariness, noun
nonsedentarily, adverb
nonsedentariness, noun
nonsedentary, adjective
presedentary, adjective
unsedentary, adjective
Examples from the web for sedentary
  • It is possible that for some, a sedentary lifestyle leads to pedestrian thought.
  • By making flying-fox populations sedentary, stressed and fragmented, development might have also made them prone to viral spikes.
  • To school, a mostly sedentary existence, to the kinetic soccer practice that is a great place to learn about energy distribution.
  • Though they appear sedentary, sea stars move around on tiny, tubular feet.
  • Generally sedentary, it moves short distances in the late summer to form coveys, usually comprising several family groups.
  • The sloth is the world's slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on its furry coat.
  • They may appear sedentary, but they are skilled tree-climbers and efficient swimmers.
  • Most of my years of research had been sedentary, in hushed libraries and poorly lit archives.
  • Most of the world's top players have strenuous exercise routines to balance their sedentary chess playing.
  • Video games are so popular that parents complain their kids have given up sports and grown too sedentary.
British Dictionary definitions for sedentary

sedentary

/ˈsɛdəntərɪ; -trɪ/
adjective
1.
characterized by or requiring a sitting position: sedentary work
2.
tending to sit about without taking much exercise
3.
(of animals) moving about very little, usually because of attachment to a rock or other surface
4.
(of animals) not migratory
Derived Forms
sedentarily, adverb
sedentariness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Latin sedentārius, from sedēre to sit
Word Origin and History for sedentary
adj.

1590s, "remaining in one place," from Middle French sédentaire (16c.) and directly from Latin sedentarius "sitting, remaining in one place," from sedentem (nominative sedens), present participle of sedere "to sit; occupy an official seat, preside; sit still, remain; be fixed or settled," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit" (cf. Sanskrit a-sadat "sat down," sidati "sits;" Old Persian hadis "abode;" Greek ezesthai "to sit," hedra "seat, chair, face of a geometric solid;" Old Irish suide "seat, sitting;" Welsh sedd "seat," eistedd "sitting;" Old Church Slavonic sežda, sedeti "to sit;" Lithuanian sedmi "to sit;" Russian sad "garden," Lithuanian soditi "to plant;" Gothic sitan, Old English sittan "to sit;" see sit). Of persons, the sense "not in the habit of exercise" is recorded from 1660s.