Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of 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.
\Siege\, v. t. To besiege; to beset. [R.] Through all the dangers that can siege The life of man. --Buron.