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Webster 1913 Edition

Seize

Seize

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Seized
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Seizing
.]
[OE.
seisen
,
saisen
, OF.
seisir
,
saisir
, F.
saisir
, of Teutonic origin, and akin to E.
set
. The meaning is properly, to set, put, place, hence, to put in possession of. See
Set
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold of; to gripe or grasp suddenly; to reach and grasp.
For by no means the high bank he could
seize
.
Spenser.
Seek you to
seize
and gripe into your hands
The royalties and rights of banished Hereford?
Shakespeare
2.
To take possession of by force.
At last they
seize

The scepter, and regard not David’s sons.
Milton.
3.
To invade suddenly; to take sudden hold of; to come upon suddenly;
as, a fever
seizes
a patient
.
Hope and deubt alternate
seize
her seul.
Pope.
4.
(law)
To take possession of by virtue of a warrant or other legal authority;
as, the sheriff
seized
the debtor's goods
.
5.
To fasten; to fix.
[Obs.]
As when a bear hath
seized
her cruel claws
Upon the carcass of some beast too weak.
Spenser.
6.
To grap with the mind; to comprehend fully and distinctly;
as, to
seize
an idea
.
7.
(Naut.)
To bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff, as yarn or marline;
as, to
seize
ropes
.
☞ This word, by writers on law, is commonly written seise, in the phrase to be seised of (an estate), as also, in composition, disseise, disseisin.
To be seized of
,
to have possession, or right of possession;
as, A B was
seized
and possessed
of
the manor of Dale.
“Whom age might see seized of what youth made prize.”
Chapman.
–
To seize on
or
To seize upon
,
to fall on and grasp; to take hold on; to take possession of suddenly and forcibly.
Syn. – To catch; grasp; clutch; snatch; apprehend; arrest; take; capture.

Webster 1828 Edition

Seize

SEIZE

,
Verb.
T.
1. To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold on; or to gripe or grasp suddenly. The tiger rushes from the thicket and seizes his prey. A dog seizes an animal by the throat. The hawk seizes a chicken with his claws. The officer seizes a theif.
2. To take possession by force, with or without right.
At last they seize The scepter, and regard not David's son. Milton.
3. To invade suddenly; to take hold of; to come upon suddenly; as, a fever seizes a patient
And hope and doubt alternate seize her soul. Pope.
4. To take possession by virtue of a warrant or legal authority. The sherif seized the debtor's goods; the whole estate was seized and cofiscated. We say, to arrest a person, to seize goods.
5. To fasten; to fix. In seaman's language, to fasten two ropes or different parts oof one rope together with a cord.

Definition 2024

seize

seize

English

Verb

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  1. (transitive) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.
  2. (transitive) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).
  3. (transitive) To take possession of (by force, law etc.).
    to seize smuggled goods
    to seize a ship after libeling
  4. (transitive) To have a sudden and powerful effect upon.
    • 2010, Antonio Saggio, A Secret van Gogh: His Motif and Motives, ISBN 9781447507932, 11:
      This sensation of an object becoming alive is a characteristic that, I believe, seizes all viewers of a van Gogh. The Bible goes beyond being a simple still-life object to become a living thing, an expression of strength, an existence that emanates from itself, beyond the painting surface to participate in our very lives.
    a panic seized the crowd
    a fever seized him
  5. (transitive, nautical) To bind, lash or make fast, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line.
    to seize two fish-hooks back to back
    to seize or stop one rope on to another
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To fasten, fix.
  7. (intransitive) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).
    to seize on the neck of a horse
    The text which had seized upon his heart with such comfort and strength abode upon him for more than a year. (Southey, Bunyan, p. 21)
  8. (intransitive) To have a seizure.
    • 2012, Daniel M. Avery, Tales of a Country Obstetrician
      Nearing what she thought was a climax, he started seizing and fell off her. Later, realizing he was dead, she became alarmed and dragged the body to his vehicle to make it look like he had died in his truck.
  9. (intransitive) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.
    Rust caused the engine to seize, never to run again.
  10. (Britain, intransitive) To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

  1. ↑ C.T. Onions, ed., Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, s.v. "seize" (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 807.

French

French cardinal numbers
 <  15 16 17  > 
    Cardinal : seize
    Ordinal : seizième
French Wikipedia article on seize

Etymology

From Latin sēdecim.

Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /sɛz/
    • IPA(key): /saiz/

Numeral

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  1. sixteen

Derived terms

Norman

Norman cardinal numbers
 <  15 16 17  > 
    Cardinal : seize
Norman cardinal numbers
 <  15 16 17  > 
    Cardinal : seize

Etymology

From Old French seize, from Latin sēdecim.

Pronunciation

Numeral

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  1. (Jersey, Guernsey, cardinal) sixteen

Etymology

Earlier seise, from Middle English seisen, sesen, saisen, from Old French seisir ‎(“to take possession of; invest (person, court)”), from Medieval Latin sacīre ‎(“to lay claim to, appropriate”) (8th century) in the phrase ad propriam sacire, from Old Low Frankish *sakjan ‎(“to sue, bring legal action”), from Proto-Germanic *sakjaną, *sakōną (compare Old English sacian ‎(“to strive, brawl”)), from Proto-Germanic *sakaną (compare Old Saxon sakan ‎(“to accuse”), Old High German sahhan ‎(“to bicker, quarrel, rebuke”), Old English sacan 'to quarrel, claim by law, accuse').[1] See sake.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sēz, IPA(key): /siːz/
  • Homophones: seas, sees

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