Etymology
Formally from Dutch zitten (“to sit”), from Frankish *sittjan, from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną. Semantically from a merger of the former and related Dutch zetten (“to set, put”), from Proto-Germanic *satjaną, whence also Afrikaans set (chiefly in compounds). Both Germanic verbs are eventually from Proto-Indo-European *sed-. See: Dutch '
zitten', Proto-Germanic '
*sitjaną', Dutch '
zetten', Proto-Germanic '
*satjaną'.