Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SIEGE, n. [Fr. siége, a seat, a siege, the see of a bishop; Norm. sage, a seat; It. seggia, seggio; Arm. sich, sicha, sich enn. The radical sense is to set, to fall or to throw down; Sax. sigan, to fall, set or rush down. These words seem to be connected with sink, and with the root of seal, L. sigillum.]

1. The setting of an army around or before a fortified place for the purpose of compelling the garrison to surrender; or 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. A siege differs from a blockade, as in a siege the investing army approaches the fortified place to attack and reduce it by force; but in a blockade, the army secures all the avenues to the place to intercept all supplies, and waits till famine compels the garrison to surrender.
2. Any continued endeavor to gain possession. Love stood the siege, and would not yield his breast. – Dryden.
3. Seat; throne. [Obs.] – Spenser.
4. Rank; place; class. [Obs.] – Shak.
5. Stool. [Not in use.] – Brown.