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siege

Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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

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

Source : WordNet®

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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