driving seatn.
/ˈdrʌɪvɪŋ siːt/, U.S. /ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˌsit/, Irish English /ˈdraɪvɪŋ siːt/ chiefly British and Irish English.
1. The seat in a vehicle in which the driver sits.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > parts and equipment of vehicles generally > [noun] > seat > of specific type or position
driver's seata1726
side seat1742
driving seat1788
back seata1832
aisle seat1838
car seat1850
reclining seat1857
window seat1862
passenger seat1867
seat-board1873
garden seat1884
bucket-seat1908
shotgun1940
Sleeperette1950
sleeper seat1960
1788 World & Fashionable Advertiser 25 Apr. (advt.) Light phaeton.., town built, and extremely compact: It has a high driving seat.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer xvi An express waggon with a driving seat.
1955 Times 21 June 5/4 The forward view from the driving seat is better than the rather high bonnet would suggest.
2013 R. Haslam Invisible Assassin v. 45 He sat in the driving seat again, looked in the mirror; he waved to other cars as he drove them both to a restaurant.
2. A position of authority or control. Chiefly in in the driving seat: in charge; in control of a situation.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > in control or charge [phrase]
to be in the saddle1581
in the driver's seat1860
in the driving seat1947
1889 J. O'Connor Recoll. R. Pigott 8 No sooner had P. J. Smyth taken the driving-seat than the principles of the paper began to run zig-zag.
1947 Irish Monthly 75 147/2 The genuine Messianic coming-of-age of the working class, which will no longer have to struggle for its rights, but will be in the driving seat.
1976 Irish Times 30 Sept. 9/1 By next week..he could be leading the Opposition, leaving Herr Kohl to take the driving seat in Europe.
1992 Bowlers' World Dec. 9/4 In the final, Jane opened up an early lead and stayed in the driving seat.
2009 Independent 11 Nov. 31/5 I'd been ill... Suddenly this morning I was acutely aware that my senses had returned and I was back in the driving seat and ready for anything.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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