sedan

/səˈdæn/

/sɪˈdæn/

Other forms: sedans

A sedan is a car that seats at least four people. You might dream of getting a sports car when you're 16, but it's more likely that your parents will loan you the keys to their sedan.

In the 17th century, a sedan was "a covered chair on poles," a fancy way for one person to ride, carried by at least four people. Today's sedan seats four, and it's powered by gasoline or electricity. Since about 1912, the word sedan has been used most often for talking about an automobile. The word is rooted in the Latin sedere, "sit."

Definitions of sedan

1. noun

   a car that is closed and that has front and rear seats and two or four doors
   synonyms: saloon

   types:

   brougham

   a sedan that has no roof over the driver's seat

   type of:

   auto, automobile, car, machine, motorcar

   a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
2. noun

   a closed litter for one passenger
   synonyms: sedan chair

   types:

   jampan

   a kind of sedan chair used in India

   type of:

   litter

   conveyance consisting of a chair or bed carried on two poles by bearers