sedis

Sedis is a Latin noun meaning seat, chair, throne, or dwelling, and by extension a place of authority or residence. It is the genitive singular form of sedēs, a feminine noun of the third declension. The root is related to the verb sedere, “to sit,” and the word appears in fixed phrases throughout Latin literature and ecclesiastical Latin.

In ecclesiastical and historical contexts, sedēs is often used to denote the see or throne of a bishop or the pope, and by extension the Holy See. The most well-known phrases include Sedes Apostolica, referring to the Apostolic See (the Holy See), and Sede vacante, used to describe a period when the see is vacant. The term can also indicate the jurisdiction of a bishop, sometimes described as the “see” of a diocese, i.e., the location of its cathedra or episcopal seat. Outside church usage, sedēs can function metaphorically to denote the seat of government or any center of authority—the place where power resides.

In modern English-language scholarship, sedis appears primarily within Latin phrases preserved in religious, legal, or historical documents. It is less common as an independent word in contemporary prose outside of specialized Latin writing. When translated, sedis typically becomes “of the seat,” “seat,” or, in the context of power, “the seat of power.”