Siege (?), n. [OE. sege, OF. siege, F. siège a seat, a siege; cf. It. seggia, seggio, zedio, a seat, asseggio, assedio, a siege, F. assiéger 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. “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.
Ah! traitorous eyes, come out of your shameless siege forever. Painter (Palace of Pleasure).
3. Rank; grade; station; estimation.
I fetch my life and being
From men of royal siege. Shak.
4. Passage of excrements; stool; fecal matter.
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.