---
title: siege — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «siege» in the school dictionary: A siege is when an army surrounds a town or castle and stops food and help getting in, so the people inside will give up. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# siege

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** army, help, people, police, someone, shop · **What happens:** be, surround, stop, get in, give up, hide · **To what, where:** siege, town, food, sides, castle, long siege

<!-- .vabout -->
«siege» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [siege in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/siege.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A siege is when an army surrounds a town or castle and stops food and help getting in, so the people inside will give up.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:m1:1
# text = A siege is when an army surrounds a town or castle and stops food and help getting in, so the people inside will give up.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	cop	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	7	mark	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	army	army	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	surrounds	surround	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	stops	stop	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
14	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
17	getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	16	acl	_	_
18	in	in	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
20	so	so	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	nsubj	_	_
23	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
24	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	25	aux	_	_
25	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl:relcl	_	_
26	up	up	ADP	RP	_	25	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | a siege |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **surround** | present | a army | a town or castle |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme town=Co-Theme |
| 3 | **stop** | present | a army *not said here* | food and help |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality food=Eventuality |
| 4 | **get in** | gerund | help *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 5 | **give up** | future | the people | a siege *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn resign-10.11-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent siege=Source |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A siege can also be when police surround a building where someone is hiding, often with hostages.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:m2:1
# text = A siege can also be when police surround a building where someone is hiding, often with hostages.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	surround	surround	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	14	advmod	_	_
12	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	14	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	hiding	hide	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	often	often	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
17	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	hostages	hostage	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | can | police |  |  |  |  | surround *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **hide** | present · progressive | someone |  |  |  |  | with hostages | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Under siege can mean being attacked or troubled from all sides by lots of problems or people.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:m3:1
# text = Under siege can mean being attacked or troubled from all sides by lots of problems or people.
1	Under	under	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	attacked	attack	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	xcomp	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	troubled	trouble	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	11	det	_	_
11	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	problems	problem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nmod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can |  |  |  | siege |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **attack** *not said to happen* | gerund · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn attack-60.1-1 «NP V» |
| 3 | **trouble** | participle |  |  |  | all sides |  | by lots of problems or people | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The castle held out through a long siege.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x1:1
# text = The castle held out through a long siege.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	through	through	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold out** | participle |  | the castle *not said here* |  | a long siege |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme through siege=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The army laid siege to the city for six months.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x2:1
# text = The army laid siege to the city for six months.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	army	army	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	laid	lay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	six	six	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | past | the army | siege |  |  | month | to the city | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent siege=Result |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
During the siege the people ate rats to survive.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x3:1
# text = During the siege the people ate rats to survive.
1	During	during	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	survive	survive	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | past | the people | rats |  |  | during the siege |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **survive** | to-infinitive | the people *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police ended the siege after ten hours.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x4:1
# text = Police ended the siege after ten hours.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	after	after	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | past | Police | the siege |  |  | hour |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality siege=Eventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The siege was lifted when help arrived.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x5:1
# text = The siege was lifted when help arrived.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	lifted	lift	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	arrived	arrive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lift** | past · passive |  | the siege |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **arrive** | past | help |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
On sale day the shop was under siege from shoppers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x6:1
# text = On sale day the shop was under siege from shoppers.
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	sale	sale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	under	under	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	shoppers	shopper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the shop |  |  | siege | day | from shoppers | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We built a model siege engine in history.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x7:1
# text = We built a model siege engine in history.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	built	build	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	model	model	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
5	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	engine	engine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	history	history	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | past | We | a model siege engine |  | history |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent engine=Product |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When the enemies of Virgilius heard of this, they assembled together and laid siege to his castle.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:siege:x8:1
# text = When the enemies of Virgilius heard of this, they assembled together and laid siege to his castle.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	enemies	enemy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Virgilius	Virgilius	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	assembled	assemble	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	together	together	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	laid	lay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
15	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
16	to	to	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | the enemies of Virgilius |  |  |  |  | of this | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer of this=Stimulus |
| 2 | **assemble** | past | enemies *= enemy* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn herd-47.5.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **lay** | past | enemies *= enemy* *not said here* | siege |  |  |  | to Virgilius's castle | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent siege=Result |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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