Siege Perilous

[ seej-per-uh-luhs ]

/ ˈsidʒ ˈpɛr ə ləs /

Save This Word!

noun

Arthurian Legend. a vacant seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the predestined finder of the Holy Grail and was fatal to pretenders.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "IS" VS. "ARE"

"Is" it time for a new quiz? "Are" you ready? Then prove your excellent skills on using "is" vs. "are."

Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby Siege Perilous

siècle d'or, Siegbahn, siege, siege mentality, Siegen, Siege Perilous, siege piece, Siegfried, Siegfried Line, Sieg heil, Sieglinde

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Siege Perilous in a sentence

Satirists occupy a perilous position—to skewer dogma and cant, and to antagonize the establishment while needing its protection.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And even as the bloody siege continues, so, too, do signs of life.
The Brothers Who Ambushed ISIS|Mohammed A. Salih|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has long been a battle cry in conservative circles that Christmas is under siege.
Why I’m for the War on Christmas|Asawin Suebsaeng|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Kurds claimed at least 100 Islamic militants were killed in the two-day battle to lift the siege.
Iraqi Kurds Get Their Groove Back, End Siege of Mount Sinjar|Jamie Dettmer|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As a cafe in Sydney, Australia came under siege by a hostage-taking gunman on Monday, those nearby attempted to flee the area.
In Defense of Uber’s Awful Sydney Surge Pricing|Olivia Nuzzi|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After an eight weeks' siege, a breach having been made, the city surrendered, and a month later the fort followed the example.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
This is a conquered city, virtually if not nominally in a state of siege, without assignable period.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
During the siege of Acre he commanded the covering force, and pushed reconnaissances far and wide.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
To pull through such a siege, the old settlers usually did much better than the new.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The road had been built for bringing down lumber, and for six miles it was at perilous angles.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for Siege Perilous

Siege Perilous

noun

(in Arthurian legend) the seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the knight destined to find the Holy Grail and that was fatal to anyone else

Word Origin for Siege Perilous

from siege (in the archaic sense: a seat or throne)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012