Siege Perilous

American  

[seej per-uh-luhs] / ˈsidʒ ˈpɛr ə ləs /

noun

1. 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.

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Siege Perilous British  

noun

1. (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

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Etymology

Origin of Siege Perilous

First recorded in 1425–75; from Old French siege perilleus “dangerous seat”; see siege ( def. ), perilous ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Siege Perilous

Shortly after being beaten down by a group of cyborg supervillains, a number of the heroes enter a mirror-like portal called the Siege Perilous.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2021

Enough would be a world that, like the Siege Perilous, lets us give one another the lives we are all entitled to.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 22, 2021

So now as they came to the Siege Perilous, Merlin stopped and motioned Allan toward it.

From In the Court of King Arthur by Samuel E. (Samuel Edward) Lowe

But she is indeed a witch and the other is surely a Siege Perilous.

From The Art of the Moving Picture by Vachel Lindsay

Besides, on one side of Arthur's throne was the Siege Perilous, which none could occupy, under penalty of destruction, save the knight destined to achieve the Holy Grail.

From The Book of the Epic by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber