different between siege vs battle

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)

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?bæt?l/, [?bat???]
• (US) enPR: b?t'l, IPA^(key): /?bætl?/, [?bæ???], [bæt??]
• Rhymes: -æt?l
• Hyphenation: bat?tle

Etymology 1

From Middle English batel, batell, batelle, batayle, bataylle, borrowed from Old French bataille, from Late Latin batt?lia, variant of battu?lia (“fighting and fencing exercises”) from Latin battu? (“to strike, hit, beat, fight”), from a Gaulish root from Proto-Indo-European *b?ed?- (“to stab, dig”). Doublet of battalia and battel.

Displaced native Old English ?efeoht.

Alternative forms

• batail, battel, battell (14th–17th centuries)

Noun

battle (plural battles)

1. A contest, a struggle.
   • 1611, Bible (KJV), Ecclesiastes, 9:11:
2. (military) A general action, fight, or encounter, in which all the divisions of an army are or may be engaged; a combat, an engagement.
3. (military, now rare) A division of an army; a battalion.
4. (military, obsolete) The main body of an army, as distinct from the vanguard and rear; the battalia.

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

Derived terms

Related terms

• battlement

Translations

Verb

battle (third-person singular simple present battles, present participle battling, simple past and past participle battled)

1. (intransitive) To join in battle; to contend in fight

   Scientists always battle over theories.

   She has been battling against cancer for years.

2. (transitive) To fight or struggle; to enter into a battle with.

   She has been battling cancer for years.

Derived terms

• battle it out

Related terms

• embattle

Translations

Etymology 2

From Early Modern English batell, probably from Middle English *batel (“flourishing”), from Old English *batol (“improving, tending to be good”), from batian (“to get better, improve”) + -ol ( +? -le).

Alternative forms

• battil, battill, battel, baittle, bettle, batwell

Adjective

battle (comparative more battle, superlative most battle)

1. (Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England, agriculture) Improving; nutritious; fattening.

   battle grass, battle pasture

2. (Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) Fertile; fruitful.

   battle soil, battle land

Derived terms

• overbattle

Verb

battle (third-person singular simple present battles, present participle battling, simple past and past participle battled)

1. (transitive, Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To nourish; feed.
2. (transitive, Britain dialectal, chiefly Scotland, Northern England) To render (for example soil) fertile or fruitful

Related terms

• batful
• batten

Further reading

• battle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• battle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “battle”, in Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• batlet, battel, tablet