Sitter Covers a Babysitter, a Portrait and an Easy Target
A sitter is someone who sits — for a portrait, with children, or in a nest. In sport it also means a chance too easy to miss.
A sitter is a person who sits, and English has quietly built several jobs on that. A portrait sitter poses; a babysitter sits with children; in football a sitter is a chance so easy that missing it is the story. The last one comes from shooting: a sitting bird is an easy shot, which also gives us *sitting duck*.
- Someone who poses for a portrait. *The sitter grew restless.*
- A babysitter or pet sitter. *We booked a sitter.*
- An easy chance (sport). *He missed a sitter.*
- A bird on eggs. *A patient sitter.*
- Sitting duck — a defenceless target. *They were sitting ducks.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | sit | Sit down. |
| Past | sat | She sat there. |
| Agent | sitter | A house sitter. |
| Compound | babysitter | A regular babysitter. |
| Noun | sitting | A long sitting. |
- The portrait took nine sittings.Art.
- We need a sitter for Friday evening.Childcare.
- From two yards out, it was a sitter.Football commentary.
Where babysitter came from
- First recorded — American English, 1930s
- Baby sit as a verb — formed later, from the noun
- Related jobs — house sitter, pet sitter, plant sitter
- Figurative — babysitting a project means minding it, often resentfully
- The image — someone who simply sits with the child while the parents are out
From *sit*, Old English *sittan*, plus the agent ending -er. The childcare compound is American and dates from the 1930s.
What is a sitter in football?
A goalscoring chance so easy that it is expected to be taken. Missing one is treated as a mistake, not bad luck.
Where does sitting duck come from?
From shooting. A duck on the water is a far easier target than one in flight.