Hypertext Webster Gateway: "siege"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Siege \Siege\, n. [OE. sege, OF. siege, F. si[`e]ge a seat, a
siege; cf. It. seggia, seggio, zedio, a seat, asseggio,
assedio, a siege, F. assi['e]ger 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 gay. --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.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Siege \Siege\, v. t.
To besiege; to beset. [R.]

Through all the dangers that can siege The life of man.
--Buron.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

siege
n : the action of an armed force that surrounds a fortified
place and isolates it while continuing to attack [syn: {besieging},
{beleaguering}, {military blockade}]


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