Dictionary

siege engine en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsiːd͡ʒ ˌɛnd͡ʒɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio
• /ˈsid͡ʒ ˌɛnd͡ʒɪn/ (General-American)

Etymology

PIE word *h₁én From siege + engine (“large construction used in warfare”).

Meanings

1. (historical) A large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.; specifically, a trebuchet or other type of catapult.
   • The cavalry were on the wings and the siege-engines, mangonels and catapults, planted on sand-dunes. 1934, Robert Graves, chapter XXXII, in I, Claudius: […], New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, →OCLC, page 401:
   • Opposite this hill Bohemund's men now began to dig in a definite direction. For the besiegers had devised this new mischief against the city and invented a new knavish siege-engine to apply to the town. For as they dug, they went along under the ground like moles boring holes in the soil and in places protecting themselves by sheds with high roofs against the stones and arrows which were thrown from above, and in others propping up the earth above them with poles, and thus they went on in a straight line. 1928, Anna Comnena [i.e., Anna Komnene], “Book XIII”, in Elizabeth A[nna] S[ophia] Dawes, transl., The Alexiad (Byzantine Series), Cambridge, Ont.: In Parentheses Publications, published 2000, page 233:

Forms

Hyponyms

ram · onager · catapult · sow · ballista · scorpion · carroballista · siege tower · trebuchet · scorpio · battering ram · polybolos · mangonel · oxybeles

Synonyms

siege weapon · military engine

Translations (41)

ja 攻城兵器 (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · fr arme de siège (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · pl machina oblężnicza (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · la machina bellica (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · cy magnel (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · ar مُعِدَّات حِصَار (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · es arma de asedio (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · fr engin de siège (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · fr machine de siège (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · ro mașină de asediu (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · sh opsadne sprave (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · pt arma de assédio (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · uk облогові машини (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · fi piirityskone (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · pt arma de cerco (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · cmn 攻城武器 (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · da kastemaskine (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · sv belägringsmaskin (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · ca maquinària de setge (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · sl oblegovalna naprava (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · hu ostromgép (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · nl belegeringswerk (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · it arma d'assedio (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · et piiramismasin (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · de Belagerungsmaschine (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · ota منجنیق (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · he טקטיקת מצור (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · eo sieĝarmo (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · nb beleiringsmaskiner (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · nl belegeringswapen (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · el πολιορκητική μηχανή (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · vi vũ khí công thành (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · tr kuşatma makinesi (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · id mesin kepung (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · de Belagerungsgerät (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · fa ادوات محاصره (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · da belejringsvåben (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · mk о́псадно ору́дие (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · ru оса́дное ору́дие (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · it macchina d'assedio (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.) · sk obliehací stroj (large weapon of war used during ancient and medieval times to batter fortifications, settlements, etc.)

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