seat

Main Entry:: ¹seat
Pronunciation:: \ˈsēt\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English sete, from Old Norse sæti; akin to Old English gesete seat, sittan to sit
Date:: 13th century

1 a: a special chair of one in eminence ; also : the status represented by it b: a chair, stool, or bench intended to be sat in or on c: the particular part of something on which one rests in sitting <the seat of a chair> <trouser seat> d: buttocks2 a: a seating accommodation <a seat for the game> <a 200-seat restaurant> b: a right of sitting <lost his seat in Congress> c: membership on an exchange3 a: a place where something specified is prevalent : center <a seat of learning> b: a place from which authority is exercised <the county seat> c: a bodily part in which some function or condition is centered <the brain as the seat of the mind>4: posture in or way of sitting on horseback5 a: a part at or forming the base of something b: a part (as a socket) or surface on or in which another part or surface rests

— by the seat of one's pants

: using experience and intuition rather than mechanical aids or formal theory

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