Category:Siege

The plural of siege is sieges.

Siege, n. Etym: [oe. sege, of. siege, f. siège a seat, a siege; cf. It. seggia, seggio, zedio, a seat, asseggio, assedio, a siege, f. Assiéger to besiege, it. & ll. assediare, l. obsidium a siege, Besieging; all ultimately fr. L. sedere to sit. See sit, and cf. See, N.]

1. A seat; especially, a royal seat; a throne. [obs.] "upon the very Siege of justice." Shak. A stately siege of sovereign majesty, and thereon sat a woman gorgeous and joyful. Spenser. In our great hall there stood a vacant chair. . . And merlin called It "the siege perilous." Tennyson.

2. Hence, place or situation; seat. [obs.] Ah! Traitorous eyes, come out of your shameless siege forever. Painter (palace of pleasure).

3. Rank; grade; station; estimation. [obs.] I fetch my life and being from men of royal siege. Shak.

4. Passage of excrements; stool; fecal matter. [obs.] The siege of this mooncalf. Shak.

5. The sitting of an army around or before a fortified place for the purpose of compelling the garrison to surrender; the surrounding or investing of a place by an army, and approaching it by passages and advanced works, which cover the besiegers from the enemy's fire. See The note under Blockade.

6. Hence, a continued attempt to gain possession. Love stood the siege, and would not yield his breast. Dryden.

7. The floor of a glass-furnace.

8. A workman's bench. Knught. Siege gun, a heavy gun for siege operations. -- siege train, artillery adapted for attacking fortified places.

Siege Siege, v. t.

Defn: to besiege; to beset. [r.] Through all the dangers that can siege the life of man. Buron.