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Added 9 October 2026

saddle

/ˈsædl̩/ noun

In Latin: sella Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about saddle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A seat for the rider of a horse or other animal.
A pass or ridge that slopes gently between two peaks (is shaped like a saddle).
Cut of meat (especially mutton or lamb) consisting of part of the backbone and both loins.

verb

Put a saddle on.
saddle the horses
Load or burden; encumber.
he saddled me with that heavy responsibility
Impose a task upon, assign a responsibility to.
He charged her with cleaning up all the files over the weekend

Origin

From Middle English sadel, from Old English sadol, from Proto-West Germanic *sadul, from Proto-Germanic *sadulaz (“saddle”). Further etymology uncertain, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sod-dʰlo-, from *sed- (“to sit”) + *-dʰlom (a variant of *-trom (suffix forming nouns denoting instruments or tools)), though the Oxford English Dictionary says this “presents formal difficulties”. Cognates * Danish sadel * Dutch zadel * German Sattel * Icelandic söðull * Low German Sadel * Russian седло́ (sedló) * Saterland Frisian Soadel * Scots sadil * Swedish sadel * West Frisian seal

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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