siege definition

1. A seat; especially, a royal seat; a throne. "Upon the very siege of justice." "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. "Ah! traitorous eyes, come out of your shameless siege forever." (Painter (Palace of Pleasure))

3. Rank; grade; station; estimation. "I fetch my life and being From men of royal siege." (Shak)

4. Passage of excrements; stool; faecal matter. "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. Siege gun, a heavy gun for siege operations. Siege train, artillery adapted for attacking fortified places.

Origin: OE. Sege, OF. Siege, F. Siege a seat, a siege; cf. It. Seggia, seggio, zedio, a seat, asseggio, assedio, a siege, F. Assieger to besiege, It. & LL. Assediare, L. Obsidium a siege, besieging; all ultimately fr. L. Sedere to sit. See Sit, and cf. See.