sedate

Meaning

1. Of a person or animal, or their behaviour: calm and composed (often in a dignified manner), and avoiding or unaffected by activity or excitement.
2. Of an object, particularly a building: not overly ornate or showy; not having a strong colour or design.
3. Of writing: not emotional; calm, composed.
4. Of one's mind, thoughts, etc.: calm, sober.
5. Of an object: not moving; at rest, quiet, still; also, moving smoothly and steadily.
6. To give (a person) a sedative to calm them or put them to sleep; to tranquilize.
7. To make (someone or something) calm or tranquil; to assuage, to calm, to soothe.

Etymology / origin

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English sedate (“not painful or sore”), and directly from its etymon Latin sēdātus (“calm, quiet, composed”), participial adjective from sēdō (“to allay, appease, calm, settle; to end, stop”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). Compare English -ate (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘characterized by [the thing specified]’). The verb is partly derived from sēdāt-, a participial stem of sēdō (verb sense 2—“to make (someone or something) calm”; see above), and partly a back-formation from sedation (verb sense 1—“to give (a person) a sedative”) + English -ate (suffix forming verbs). It is first attested slightly later than the adjective.

Related words

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