Siderostat, sid′e-rō-stat, n. a heliostat adapted to sidereal time.—adj. Siderostat′ic. [L. sidus, sideris a star, Gr. statos, standing.]
Siege, sēj, n. a sitting down with an army round or before a fortified place in order to take it by force: a continued endeavour to gain possession: (Shak.) a seat, throne, station: (Shak.) excrement: the floor of a glass-furnace: a workman's bench.—v.t. to lay siege to.—ns. Siege′-piece, a coin, generally of unusual shape and rude workmanship, issued in a besieged place during stress of siege; Siege′-train, the materials carried by an army for the purpose of laying siege to a place.—State of siege, a condition of things in which civil law is suspended or made subordinate to military law; Minor state of siege, a modification of the more severe rule in cases of merely domestic trouble. [O. Fr. sege (Fr. siège), seat—Low L. assedium=L. obsidium, a siege—sedēre, to sit.]
Sield, sēld (Spens.). Cieled.
Sienese, si-e-nēz′, adj. pertaining to Siena, or Sienna, in central Italy, or its school of painting in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Sienite, Sienitic. Same as Syenite, &c.
Sienna, si-en′a, n. a fine orange-red pigment used in oil and water-colour painting. [It. terra di Siena, Sienna earth.]
Sierra, sē-er′ra, n. a ridge of mountains: a scombroid fish. [Sp., usually derived from L. serra, a saw. Some suggest Ar. sehrah, a desert place, whence also Sahara.]
Siesta, si-es′ta, n. a short sleep taken about midday or after dinner. [Sp.,—L. sexta (hora), the sixth (hour) after sunrise, the hour of noon.]
Sieur, sièr, n. a French title of respect, obsolete except in law-courts. [Fr.,—L. senior.]
Sieve, siv, n. a vessel with a bottom of woven hair or wire to separate the fine part of anything from the coarse: a person who cannot keep a secret.—v.t. to put through a sieve: to sift. [A.S. sife; Ger. seib.]