- saddle (n.)
- Old English sadol "seat for a rider," from Proto-Germanic *sathulaz (source also of Old Norse söðull, Old Frisian sadel, Dutch zadel, zaal, German Sattel "saddle"), from PIE *sed- (1) "to sit" (source also of Latin sedere "to sit," Old Church Slavonic sedlo "saddle;" see sedentary) + Germanic suffix *-þra, used to form neutral names of tools. Figurative phrase in the saddle "in an active position of management" is attested from 1650s. Saddle stitch (n.) was originally in bookbinding (1887).
- saddle (v.)
- Old English sadolian "to put a riding saddle on;" see saddle (n.). The meaning "to load with a burden" is first recorded 1690s. Related: Saddled; saddling.
