Siege (?), n. [OE. sege, OF. siege, F. siege a seat, a siege; cf. It. seggia, seggio, zedio, a seat, asseggio, assedio, a siege, F. assi'eger 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.
© Webster 1913.
Siege, v. t.
To besiege; to beset.
[R.]
Through all the dangers that can siege
The life of man.
Buron.
© Webster 1913.