LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

sella

sella f (genitive sellae)
Classical[ˈsɛl.la]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛl.la]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. feminineseat, chair (one that is moveable unlike a sedīle)
  2. femininehistoricalA kind of open or enclosed sedan chair
  3. Late Latinfemininesaddle
  4. femininestool

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

in quā ūnus homō sedet.
sella -ae f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Sedes · Sedile · Sella

Sedes is simply a place for sitting, like ἕδος; whereas sedile and sella are artificially prepared seats; sedile, in any form chosen, as a stool or bench, whether movable or immovable, like ἕδρα; sella, of a particular form, as a chair or throne, like θρόνος.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesellasellae
genitivesellaesellārum
dativesellaesellīs
accusativesellamsellās
ablativesellāsellīs
vocativesellasellae

sella (ancient collat. form sedda, acc. to Scaur. p. 2252 P.), ae, f. dim. for sedla; root sed-; .sedes,
I. a seat, settle, chair, stool (syn.: sedile, scamnum): viden' ut expalluit! datin' isti sellam, ubi assidat cito, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 32; id. Bacch. 3, 3, 28; id. Poen. 1, 2, 56: scabilla, sellas, solia, Cato, R. R. 10, 4; 157, 11: in sellā sedere, Cic. Div. 1, 46, 104 (corresp. to sedes): fracta est patris sella, Petr. 136: altā deducere sellā, Juv. 3, 136 al.—
II. Esp.
A. Of a mechanic's work-stool: ipsum sellae atque operis et quaestus cottidiani locum, Cic. Cat. 4, 8, 17: in foro sellam ponere, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 25, § 56.—
B. Of a teacher's chair, Cic. Fam. 9, 18 fin.—
C. Of a portable chair or sedan (different from the lectica, a litter made like a bed): aut sellā, aut lecticā transire, Suet. Claud. 25; so (opp. lectica) Dig. 32, 1, 49; Mart. 10, 10, 7; 11, 98, 12; simply sella, Suet. Aug. 53; Plin. Ep. 3, 5, 15; Juv. 1, 124 al.; called also sella gestatoria, Suet. Ner. 26; id. Vit. 16; Vulg. 2 Macc. 3, 27; cf.: gestamen sellae, Tac. A. 14, 4; 15, 57.—
D. Of a seat in a coach or wagon, Phaedr. 3, 6, 5.—
E. Of a close-stool, Scrib. Comp. 193; 227; also called sella familiarica, Varr. R. R. 1, 13, 4. —
F. Of a saddle, Cod. Th. 8, 5, 47; Cod. Just. 12, 51, 12; Veg. 6, 6, 2; Vulg. Esth. 6, 8.—
G. Esp., a magistrate's seat or chair (very freq.), Cic. Phil. 2, 34, 85; id. Div. 1, 52, 119; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 46, § 119; 2, 1, 47, § 124; 2, 2, 38, § 94; Caes. B. C. 3, 20; Liv. 3, 11; 6, 15; Hor. S. 1, 6, 97 et saep.; also called sella curulis; v. curulis.—Prov.: duabus sellis sedere, to sit on two stools, i. e. to keep in with both parties, Laber. ap. Sen. Contr. 3, 18 fin.; id. ap. Macr. S. 2, 3.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sedleh₂
  3. Proto-Italic*sedlā
  4. Latinsella

From Proto-Italic *sedlā, from Proto-Indo-European *sed-leh₂ from the root *sed- (“to sit”), whence sedeō (“to sit”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἕλλᾱ (héllā, “seat”).

Descendants
  • Catalansella
  • Englishsella
  • Frenchselle
  • Italiansella
  • Occitansèla
  • Portugueseselafrom Old Galician-Portuguese sela
  • Spanishsillafrom Old Spanish siella
  • Romanianșa
  • Romanianșale
  • Sardiniansedha

In English words that came into English from sella

  • sellarsellāris
  • sellsella

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesSellaSella The customs and associations which the Greeks and Romans connected with the attitude of sitting were so different from ours that any account of …

Quick answers

What does sella mean in Latin?
sella, a noun, means “seat, chair (one that is moveable unlike a sedīle); A kind of open or enclosed sedan chair; saddle”.
What is the genitive of sella?
The genitive singular is sellae. sella is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce sella?
In classical Latin, [ˈsɛl.la]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɛl.la].
Where does sella come from?
Proto-Indo-European *sed- → Proto-Indo-European *sedleh₂ → Proto-Italic *sedlā → Latin sella.