Sed"en*ta*ry (?), a. [L. sedentarius, fr. sedere to sit: cf. F. se'edentaire. See Sedent.]

1.

Accustomed to sit much or long; as, a sedentary man.

"Sedentary, scholastic sophists."

Bp. Warburton.

2.

Characterized by, or requiring, much sitting; as, a sedentary employment; a sedentary life.

Any education that confined itself to sedentary pursuits was essentially imperfect. Beaconsfield.

3.

Inactive; motionless; sluggish; hence, calm; tranquil.

[R.] "The sedentary earth."

Milton.

The soul, considered abstractly from its passions, is of a remiss, sedentary nature. Spectator.

4.

Caused by long sitting.

[Obs.] "Sedentary numbness."

Milton.

5. Zool.

Remaining in one place, especially when firmly attached to some object; as, the oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans.

Sedentary spider Zool., one of a tribe of spiders which rest motionless until their prey is caught in their web.

 

© Webster 1913.

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