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. | 
