sellar

From Latin sellāris.

• enPR: sĕlʹər, IPA^(key): /ˈsɛlɚ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Homophones: cellar, seller

sellar (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) Relating to the sella turcica.
   • 1969, Sidney Licht, Herman L. Kamenetz, editors, Arthritis and Physical Medicine (Physical Medicine Library; XI), 360 Fountain Street, New Haven, Connecticut: Elizabeth Licht, →LCCN, page 19:

     […] has been reduced to only two basic types: ovoid and sellar surfaces (Fig. 3). The ovoid surface is uniformly convex or concave with the degree of curvature varying at each point along the surface; the sellar surface is convex in one plane and concave in a plane perpendicular to it. Modification of these basic types occur. The knee comprises two ovoid joints within one capsule and is termed a bicondylar joint. The greater multangular-metacarpal joint at the base of the thumb is a sellar joint. The ankle is also a sellar joint in which abduction and adduction is prevented by the limitations of a mortice arrangement. Movement about an ovoid surface requires more ligaments and muscles to maintain stability. The surface of a sellar joint is more congruous and makes the direction of motion more specific and more limited. A sellar joint is more efficient and more easily stabilized.
     […]
     Fig. 3. The two types of joints^[sic] surface, O—ovoid; S—sellar.
     […]
     Conjunct rotation in an ovoid joint depends on muscular action but in a sellar joint it is dependent upon the shape of the joint and the congruity of the opposing surfaces. That is why sellar joints are more efficient. They produce conjunct rotation without muscular effort, and prevent adjunct rotation during motion.

• Rellas, allers

From Latin sigillāre. Compare Spanish sellar, Portuguese selar, Catalan segellar, Italian suggellare.

sellar (first-person singular indicative present sello, past participle selláu)

1. to seal (to place a seal on (a document))

• sellu

• “sellar”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1ª edición, Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, 2000, →ISBN
• Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “sellar”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN

sellar

1. (Late Middle English, County Durham or Northumberland) alternative form of sellere

Inherited from Latin sigillāre. Compare Portuguese selar, Catalan segellar, French sceller, Italian suggellare. Cf. also the borrowed doublet sigilar.

• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: se‧llar

sellar (first-person singular present sello, first-person singular preterite sellé, past participle sellado)

1. to stamp

   Synonym: estampar

2. to seal (place a seal on a document)
3. to seal (close with a seal or hermetically)
4. to terminate, finish, end

   Synonyms: concluir, poner fin

5. (Argentina, cooking) to seal (hotly fry or cook a piece of meat for a short time)

• “sellar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “sellar”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “sellar”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019
• Manuel Seco; Olimpia Andrés; Gabino Ramos (3 August 2023), “sellar”, in Diccionario del español actual [Dictionary of Current Spanish] (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA [BBVA Foundation]