different between onslaught vs siege

English

Etymology

From anslaight (compare Dutch aanslag and German Anschlag), equivalent to on- +? slaught.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nsl??t/

Noun

onslaught (plural onslaughts)

1. A fierce attack.

   Synonym: onrush

2. (by extension) A large number of people or things resembling an attack.

Translations

See also

• slew

English

Alternative forms

• syege (15th - 16th centuries)

Etymology

From Middle English sege, from Old French sege, siege, seige (modern French siège), from Vulgar Latin *s?dicum, from Latin s?dic?lum, s?d?cula (“small seat”), from Latin s?d?s (“seat”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: s?j IPA^(key): /si?d?/
• Rhymes: -i?d?

Noun

siege (plural sieges)

1. (heading) Military action.
   1. (military) 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.
2. (heading) A seat.
   1. (obsolete) A seat, especially as used by someone of importance or authority.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen, 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.
   5. A flock of heron.
   6. (obsolete) A toilet seat.
   7. (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.

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

   9. (obsolete) Rank; grade; station; estimation.
   10. (obsolete) The floor of a glass-furnace.
   11. (obsolete) A workman's bench.

       (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)

3. (obsolete) A place with a toilet seat: an outhouse; a lavatory.

Synonyms

• (place with a toilet seat): See Thesaurus:bathroom

Derived terms

• siegehouse
• siege tower
• state of siege

Translations

Verb

siege (third-person singular simple present sieges, present participle sieging, simple past and past participle sieged)

1. (transitive, uncommon) To assault a blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition; to besiege.

   Synonym: besiege

Translations

Anagrams

• Geise, Giese

German

Verb

siege

1. inflection of siegen:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. singular imperative
   3. first/third-person singular subjunctive I

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)
2. seat (place where one sits)