siege

See also siège

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• syege (15th - 16th centuries)

Etymology

From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *sedicum, ultimately from Latin sēdēs (“seat”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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• enPR: sēj IPA: /siːdʒ/ SAMPA: /si:dZ/
• Rhymes: -iːdʒ

Noun

siege (plural sieges)

1. seat
   1. (obsolete) A seat, especially as used by someone of importance or authority.
      • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book III:

        Thenne the Bisshop of Caunterbury was fette and he blessid the syeges with grete Royalte and deuocyon, and there sette the viii and xx knyghtes in her syeges [...].

      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.vii:

        To th'vpper part, where was aduaunced hye / A stately siege of soueraigne maiestye; / And thereon sat a woman gorgeous gay [...].

   2. (obsolete) An ecclesiastical see.
   3. (obsolete) The place where one has his seat; a home, residence, domain, empire.
   4. The seat of a heron while looking out for prey; a flock of heron.
   5. (obsolete) A privy or lavatory.
   6. (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.

2. military action
   1. 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.

   2. (US) A period of struggle or difficulty, especially from illness.

Translations

military blockade of settlement

Arabic: حصار (ar) (HiSaar) m. Bosnian: opsada (bs) f. Catalan: setge (ca) m. Chinese: Mandarin: 攻城戰 (cmn), 攻城战 (cmn) (gōngchéngzhàn), 包圍戰 (cmn), 包围战 (cmn) (báowéizhàn), 圍城 (cmn), 围城 (cmn) (wéichéng), 圍困 (cmn), 围困 (cmn) (wéikùn) Croatian: opsada (hr) f. Czech: obležení (cs) n. Dutch: belegering (nl) f., beleg (nl) n. Finnish: piiritys (fi) French: siège (fr) German: Belagerung (de) f. Greek: πολιορκία (el) (poliorkía) Hebrew: please add this translation if you can

Hungarian: ostrom (hu) Ido: asiejo Italian: assedio (it) Japanese: 攻城戦 (ja) (こうじょうせん, kōjōsen), 包囲 (ja) (ほうい, hōi) Korean: 포위 공격 (ko) Latin: obsidio nominative, obsidionis genitive Norwegian: beleiring (no) m. Portuguese: sítio (pt) m. Russian: осада (ru) (osáda) f., блокада (ru) (blokáda) f. Scottish Gaelic: sèist (gd) m. and f. Spanish: sitio (es) m., asedio (es) m. Swedish: belägring (sv) Turkish: please add this translation if you can

Verb

siege (third-person singular simple present sieges, present participle sieging, simple past and past participle sieged)

1. (transitive) To assault a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition; to besiege.

Translations

to assault with the intent of conquering by force or attrition

Czech: obléhat (cs) Finnish: piirittää (fi) French: assiéger (fr) German: belagern (de) Greek: πολιορκώ (el) (poliorkó) Hungarian: ostromol (hu) Ido: asiejar

Italian: assediare (it) Latin: obsidere Norwegian: beleire (no) Russian: осаждать (ru) (osaždát') impf., осадить (ru) (osadít') pf. Spanish: sitiar (es), asediar (es) Swedish: belägring (sv)

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German

Verb

siege

1. First-person singular present of siegen.
2. Imperative singular of siegen.
3. First-person singular subjunctive I of siegen.
4. Third-person singular subjunctive I of siegen.