sedan
pronunciation
How to pronounce sedan in British English:
UK [sɪˈdæn]
How to pronounce sedan in American English:
US [sɪˈdæn]
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- Noun:
- a car that is closed and that has front and rear seats and two or four doors
- a closed litter for one passenger
Word Origin
- sedan (n.)
- 1630s, "covered chair on poles," possibly from a southern Italian dialect derivative of Italian sede "chair" (compare Italian seggietta, 1590s; the thing itself was said to have been introduced from Naples), from Latin sedes, related to sedere "sit" (see sedentary). Since Johnson's conjecture, often derived from the town of Sedan in France, where it was said to have been made or first used, but historical evidence for this is lacking. Introduced in England by Sir Sanders Duncombe in 1634 and first called a covered chair. "In Paris the sedan-chair man was usually an Auvergnat, in London an Irishman" ["Encyclopaedia Britannica," 1929]. Meaning "closed automobile seating four or more" first recorded 1912, American English.
Example
- 1. Dora wanted to buy a late-model sedan from a friend .
- 2. One foot of moving water can sweep away almost any sedan .
- 3. A shanghai license plate now costs as much as a new mid-range sedan .
- 4. A video showed off his large apartment , white sedan and endless rows of clothing .
- 5. Italy 's fiat spa plans to re-enter china with a new midsize sedan .