siege
/siːd͡ʒ/ noun, verb
Forms sieges sieging sieged syege
- noun (military) A prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. “They sued for peace after the long siege.”
- noun (US) A period of struggle or difficulty, especially from illness.
- noun (figuratively) A prolonged assault or attack.
- noun (obsolete) A seat, especially as used by someone of importance or authority.
- noun (obsolete) An ecclesiastical see.
- noun (obsolete) The place where one has his seat; a home, residence, domain, empire.
- noun The seat of a heron while looking out for prey.
- noun (collective) A flock of herons.
- verb (transitive, uncommon) To assault or blockade a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition; to besiege.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *sēdicum, from Latin sēdicŭlum, sēdēcula (“small seat”), from Latin sēdēs (“seat”). The military sense of the term is derived from the notion of an army "sitting down" in front of its target.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A seat; especially, a royal seat; a throne. [Obs.] "Upon the very siege of justice." Shak.
- noun Hence, place or situation; seat. [Obs.]
- verb To besiege; to beset. [R.]
Etymology [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.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “siege”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details