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)

  (file)

• enPR: sēj IPA: /siːdʒ/ X-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.

   7. (obsolete) Excrements, stool, fecal matter.
      • 1610, The Tempest, by 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?

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.
   3. (figuratively) A prolonged assault or attack
      • 2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, BBC Sport:

        But once again Hodgson's men found a way to get the result they required and there is a real air of respectability about their campaign even though they had to survive a first-half siege from a Ukraine side desperate for the win they needed to progress.

Translations

military blockade of settlement

• Arabic: حصار (ar) (HiSaar) m
• Asturian: asediu (ast) m
• 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)

• Czech: obležení (cs) n
• Dutch: belegering (nl) f, beleg (nl) n
• Finnish: piiritys (fi)
• French: siège (fr)
• Galician: asedio (gl) m, sitio (gl) m, cerco (gl) m
• Georgian: ალყა (ka) (alqa)
• 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, cerco (pt) m, assédio (pt) m
• Russian: осада (ru) (osáda) f, блокада (ru) (blokáda) f
• Scottish Gaelic: sèist (gd) m and f
• Serbo-Croatian: opsada (sh) 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

• Asturian: asediar (ast)
• Czech: obléhat (cs)
• Finnish: piirittää (fi)
• French: assiéger (fr)
• Galician: asediar (gl), sitiar (gl), cercar (gl)
• German: belagern (de)
• Greek: πολιορκώ (el) (poliorkó)
• Hungarian: ostromol (hu)
• Ido: asiejar

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

---

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.

---

Middle French

Noun

siege m (plural sieges)

1. siege (prolonged military assault or a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition)