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Monday 8 August 2016

Spot the Frippet: something sejant (or sejeant).

The headlines tell us that working in an office is as dangerous as smoking - though surely that depends on which bit of you is smoking.

Anyway, the idea is that working in an office means you are sitting still for long periods, and that to stave off death it might be a good idea to get up and have a wander round from time to time.

I would imagine that the best way to improve the health of the average office-worker would be to move all drinks to the far corner of the top floor, but for those happiest when safely ensconced behind a desk piled high with...well, if they knew what was there then they'd probably be quite happy to throw it away...then I present the word sejeant. Or sejant.

It usually applies to heraldic animals such as the lion or the dragon (most offices have a dragon) but there's no reason why it shouldn't be applied to anyone else. In any case, it's one of those words which add dignity to all occasions.

Sejant means sitting down, and, in the way of heraldic adjectives, it goes after the thing it's describing.

File:Lion Sejant.svg
Drawing of a lion sejant by Sodacan

So, you might see a manager sejant, or a ticket-seller sejant, or perhaps an old lady in the park sejant.

File:Victoria Park bench.JPG
Photo of Victoria Park, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, by Themightyquill. (Sorry, the old lady hasn't arrived, yet.)

Whoever it is, it gives them a dollop of welcome dignity. 

Why, it even comes close to turning them into works of art.

Enjoy the gallery.

Spot the Frippet: something sejant. This heraldic term is a variant of the 1500s seant, from the Old French seoir, to sit, from the Latin sedēre.


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