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. [ Obs. ] “Upon the very siege of justice.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A stately siege of sovereign majesty,
And thereon sat a woman gorgeous gay. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

In our great hall there stood a vacant chair . . .
And Merlin called it “The siege perilous.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, place or situation; seat. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Ah! traitorous eyes, come out of your shameless siege forever. Painter (Palace of Pleasure). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Rank; grade; station; estimation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I fetch my life and being
From men of royal siege. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Passage of excrements; stool; fecal matter. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The siege of this mooncalf. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Hence, a continued attempt to gain possession. [ 1913 Webster ]

Love stood the siege, and would not yield his breast. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. The floor of a glass-furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A workman's bench. Knught. [ 1913 Webster ]

Siege gun, a heavy gun for siege operations. --
Siege train, artillery adapted for attacking fortified places. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To besiege; to beset. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Through all the dangers that can siege
The life of man. Buron. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A temporary fort or parallel where siege guns are mounted. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Open-hearth process, etc., under Open. [ 1913 Webster ]

See Open-hearth steel, under Open. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Min.) See Syenite. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Syenitic. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It. terra di Siena, fr. Siena in Italy. ] (Chem.) Clay that is colored red or brown by the oxides of iron or manganese, and used as a pigment. It is used either in the raw state or burnt. [ 1913 Webster ]

Burnt sienna, sienna made of a much redder color by the action of fire. --
Raw sienna, sienna in its natural state, of a transparent yellowish brown color. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Sienna, a city of Italy. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Sp., properly, a saw, fr. L. serra a saw. See Serrate. ] A ridge of mountain and craggy rocks, with a serrated or irregular outline; as, the Sierra Nevada. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wild sierra overhead. Whitter. [ 1913 Webster ]