siege
Pronunciation Noun
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Pronunciation Noun
siege (plural sieges)
- (heading) Military action.
- (military) A prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition.
- 1748, David Hume, Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, Section 3 §5:
- The Peloponnesian war is a proper subject for history, the siege of Athens for an epic poem, and the death of Alcibiades for a tragedy.
- 1748, David Hume, Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, Section 3 §5:
- (US) A period of struggle or difficulty, especially from illness.
- (figuratively) A prolonged assault or attack.
- (military) A prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition.
- (heading) A seat.
- (obsolete) A seat, especially as used by someone of importance or authority.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:5.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter ij], in Le Morte Darthur, book V.
- Now Merlyn said kyng Arthur / goo thow and aspye me in al this land l knyghtes whiche ben of most prowesse & worship / within short tyme merlyn had founde suche knyȝtes […] Thenne the Bisshop of Caunterbury was fette and he blessid the syeges with grete Royalte and deuoycyon / and there sette the viij and xx knyghtes in her syeges
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen, II.vii:
- To th'vpper part, where was aduaunced hye / A stately siege of soueraigne maiestye; / And thereon sat a woman gorgeous gay […].
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:5.2?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter ij], in Le Morte Darthur, book V.
- (obsolete) An ecclesiastical see.
- (obsolete) The place where one has his seat; a home, residence, domain, empire.
- The seat of a heron while looking out for prey; a flock of heron.
- (obsolete) A toilet seat.
- (obsolete) The anus; the rectum.
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.17:
- Another ground were certain holes or cavities observable about the siege; which being perceived in males, made some conceive there might be also a feminine nature in them.
- 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, III.17:
- (obsolete) Excrements, stool, fecal matter.
- 1610, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, act 2 scene 2
- Thou art very Trinculo indeed! How cam'st thou / to be the siege of this moon-calf? Can he vent Trinculos?
- 1610, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, act 2 scene 2
- (obsolete) Rank; grade; station; estimation.
- c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
- I fetch my life and being / From men of royal siege.
- (obsolete) The floor of a glass-furnace.
- (obsolete) A workman's bench.
- (obsolete) A seat, especially as used by someone of importance or authority.
- (obsolete) A place with a toilet seat: an outhouse; a lavatory.
- (place with a toilet seat) See Thesaurus:bathroom
- French: siège
- German: Belagerung
- Italian: assedio
- Portuguese: sítio, cerco, assédio
- Russian: оса́да
- Spanish: sitio, asedio
siege (sieges, present participle sieging; past and past participle sieged)
- (transitive, uncommon) To assault a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition; to besiege.
- Synonyms: besiege
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004