'To sit at meat' definitions:

Definition of 'To sit at meat'

From: GCIDE
  • Meat \Meat\ (m[=e]t), n. [OE. mete, AS. mete; akin to OS. mat, meti, D. met hashed meat, G. mettwurst sausage, OHG. maz food, Icel. matr, Sw. mat, Dan. mad, Goth. mats. Cf. Mast fruit, Mush.]
  • 1. Food, in general; anything eaten for nourishment, either by man or beast. Hence, the edible part of anything; as, the meat of a lobster, a nut, or an egg. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, . . . to you it shall be for meat. --Gen. i. 29. [1913 Webster]
  • Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you. --Gen. ix. 3. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The flesh of animals used as food; esp., animal muscle; as, a breakfast of bread and fruit without meat. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Specifically: Dinner; the chief meal. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Meat biscuit. See under Biscuit.
  • Meat earth (Mining), vegetable mold. --Raymond.
  • Meat fly. (Zool.) See Flesh fly, under Flesh.
  • Meat offering (Script.), an offering of food, esp. of a cake made of flour with salt and oil.
  • To go to meat, to go to a meal. [Obs.]
  • To sit at meat, to sit at the table in taking food. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'To sit at meat'

From: GCIDE
  • Sit \Sit\, v. i. [imp. Sat(Sate, archaic); p. p. Sat (Sitten, obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sitting.] [OE. sitten, AS. sittan; akin to OS. sittian, OFries. sitta, D. zitten, G. sitzen, OHG. sizzen, Icel. sitja, SW. sitta, Dan. sidde, Goth. sitan, Russ. sidiete, L. sedere, Gr. ???, Skr. sad. [root]154. Cf. Assess,Assize, Cathedral, Chair, Dissident, Excise, Insidious, Possess, Reside, Sanhedrim, Seance, Seat, n., Sedate, 4th Sell, Siege, Session, Set, v. t., Sizar, Size, Subsidy.]
  • 1. To rest upon the haunches, or the lower extremity of the trunk of the body; -- said of human beings, and sometimes of other animals; as, to sit on a sofa, on a chair, or on the ground. [1913 Webster]
  • And he came and took the book put of the right hand of him that sate upon the seat. --Bible (1551) (Rev. v. 7.) [1913 Webster]
  • I pray you, jest, sir, as you sit at dinner. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To perch; to rest with the feet drawn up, as birds do on a branch, pole, etc. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To remain in a state of repose; to rest; to abide; to rest in any position or condition. [1913 Webster]
  • And Moses said to . . . the children of Reuben, Shall your brothren go to war, and shall ye sit here? --Num. xxxii. 6. [1913 Webster]
  • Like a demigod here sit I in the sky. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To lie, rest, or bear; to press or weigh; -- with on; as, a weight or burden sits lightly upon him. [1913 Webster]
  • The calamity sits heavy on us. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To be adjusted; to fit; as, a coat sits well or ill. [1913 Webster]
  • This new and gorgeous garment, majesty, Sits not so easy on me as you think. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To suit one well or ill, as an act; to become; to befit; -- used impersonally. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. To cover and warm eggs for hatching, as a fowl; to brood; to incubate. [1913 Webster]
  • As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not. --Jer. xvii. 11. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To have position, as at the point blown from; to hold a relative position; to have direction. [1913 Webster]
  • Like a good miller that knows how to grind, which way soever the wind sits. --Selden. [1913 Webster]
  • Sits the wind in that quarter? --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To occupy a place or seat as a member of an official body; as, to sit in Congress. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. To hold a session; to be in session for official business; -- said of legislative assemblies, courts, etc.; as, the court sits in January; the aldermen sit to-night. [1913 Webster]
  • 11. To take a position for the purpose of having some artistic representation of one's self made, as a picture or a bust; as, to sit to a painter. [1913 Webster]
  • To sit at, to rest under; to be subject to. [Obs.] "A farmer can not husband his ground so well if he sit at a great rent". --Bacon.
  • To sit at meat or To sit at table, to be at table for eating.
  • To sit down. (a) To place one's self on a chair or other seat; as, to sit down when tired. (b) To begin a siege; as, the enemy sat down before the town. (c) To settle; to fix a permanent abode. --Spenser. (d) To rest; to cease as satisfied. "Here we can not sit down, but still proceed in our search." --Rogers.
  • To sit for a fellowship, to offer one's self for examination with a view to obtaining a fellowship. [Eng. Univ.]
  • To sit out. (a) To be without engagement or employment. [Obs.] --Bp. Sanderson. (b) To outstay. (c) To elect not to participate in, as a dance or a hand of cards.
  • To sit under, to be under the instruction or ministrations of; as, to sit under a preacher; to sit under good preaching.
  • To sit up, to rise from, or refrain from, a recumbent posture or from sleep; to sit with the body upright; as, to sit up late at night; also, to watch; as, to sit up with a sick person. "He that was dead sat up, and began to speak." --Luke vii. 15. [1913 Webster]