English → Latin
“chair” in Latin
sēdēsseat, chair; place, residence, settlement, habitation, abodesedīleseat, bench, stool, chair (fixed in position unlike a sella)sellaseat, chair (one that is moveable unlike a sedīle); A kind of open or enclosed sedan chair; saddlecathedraarmchair (having cushions and supports); ceremonial chair (of a teacher, later of a bishop); the office or rank of teachancōnThe elbow; The arm of a workman's square; A console that appears to support a cornicesoliumseat, chair; throne, chair of state, official seat; rule, sway, dominion
The English word chair itself goes back to Latin cathedra.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
chair
sedes: sedile (seat, Vid :): sella (chair; also of teachers and magistrates): cathedra (arm or easy-chair for women: later, a professor’s chair). To place a chair for anybody, alicui sellam apponere. The arm or elbow of a chair, arcus sellae (Tac.): ancon (ἀγκών; Caelius Aurelianus Tardae Passiones, 2, 1): ARM-CHAIR, sella obliquis anconibus fabricata (Caelius Aurelianus Tardae Passiones).
Chair of state, solium: sella (with epithets; e.g., aurea): sella curulis (according to Roman custom): SEDAN CHIAR, sella: lectica (lectica = “palanquin,” the person being recumbent): sella gestatoria (Suet.): to ride or be carried in a sedan chair, lectica or sella, vehi: gestamine sellae pervehi (of being carried to a place; e.g., Baias, Tac.).
chair v.
*aliquem in sellam imposi tum humeris suslevare.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for chair?
- The usual Latin words for “chair” are sēdēs, sedīle, sella; also cathedra, ancōn, solium. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.