| 释义 |
▪ I. seize, n. Mech. rare.|siːz|
[f. seize v.]
An instance of seizing (sense 11); cf. seizing vbl. n. 1.
1912F. A. Talbot Motor-Cars 35 The heat causes the cylinder and the piston rings to expand until at last they become jammed irremovably together, precipitating what is known in motoring parlance as a ‘seize’. 1986Kart & Superkart Aug. 12/1 Reg Gange completed the weekend with a seize coming out of Mansfield corner on the last but one lap. 1987Ibid. Oct. 26/3 Goff had suffered a seize, the reason seemed inexplicable, the piston was wet enough.
▪ II. seize, v.|siːz|
Forms: 3–8 saise, 3–4 sayse, 3–9 seise, 3–5 seyse, 4 Sc. seyss, 4–5 sese, sess, 5–8 sease, 6 Sc. sase, seysse, 6–7 seaze, (7 seaz), 6–8 sieze, 7 siese, (8 Naut. size); 5 cess, 6–7 cease, ceaze, (7 ceize, ceese); 6– seize.
[a. OF. saisir, seisir (mod.F. saisir) to put in possession, to take possession of, to take hold of = Pr. sazir (whence It. sagire):—Frankish Latin (8th c.) sacīre in the phrase ad propriam (or ad proprietatem) sacire, to take into one's own possession, to appropriate. As the word sacire is replaced by ponere in another example of the formula, its source is commonly believed to be the Teut. *satjan to place: see set v.1]
I. To put in possession.
1. Law.
a. (In technical use written seise.) trans. To put (a person) in legal possession of a feudal holding; to invest or endow with property; to establish in a holding or an office or dignity.
c1290Beket 1695 in S. Eng. Leg. 155 Þe king..wende in-to engelonde, For to saisi sir henri is sone mid al is kinedom. Ibid. 1708 Þe fader seruede þe sone at þe mete a-dai, And with reaume saisede him. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8991 To..saysi þer wiþ willam Roberdes sone courtehese. a1300Havelok 2518 Her ich sayse þe In al þe lond, in al þe fe. 13..K. Alis. 7951 (Laud MS.), Darries heir I make þee And seise þee wiþ al his fee. c1400Destr. of Troy 119 Of Septur and soile he sesit his brothir. c1400York Manual, etc. (Surtees) 221* note, Wiþ my body y the worschipe, and wiþ my worldliche catel iche þe sese. 14..Beryn 1549 Beryn first was sesid in the Shippis fyve. c1440Ipomydon 1592 Ipomydon sesyd hym in his lande And yaffe hym the profyte for his sake. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) II. 693 For as moche as Pirrus my right dere nevewe is the nexte eyer I sease hym now therin. 1480― Chron. Eng. clxvi. k 4 b, The lordes of Scotland..come to kyng Edward of englond & seised hym in all the land of Scotland as hir chief lord. c1500Melusine lix. 358 Wilt thou denye my trybute that of ryght I ought to haue vpon the pommel of this toure of the which I was seasyd & enpocessid by thy fader? 1526Skelton Magnyf. 1554 In my fauour I haue you feffyd and seasyd. 1559Fabyan's Chron. (1811) 711 Al whiche tyme doctour Ponet was ceased in that bisshoprike. 1836Penny Cycl V. 226/2 Borthwick had acquired various lands..but having seised his son James in several of them, he [etc.].
b. Passive. to be seised of or in: to be the legal possessor of. Phrases, to be seised in fee, to be seised of (a manor, etc.) in his demesne as of fee: to be the holder of the fee-simple.
seised is sometimes used simply = seised of the property in question.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 417, & sesed in alle hys herytage Hys lef is. a1400in Eng. Gilds (1870) 362 Þe tenemens of weche he deyd y-seysed. 1427Rolls of Parlt. IV. 318/2 Every persone..beeyng seysed of Londes.., in his demesne as of freehold. 1473–5Cal. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. (1830) II. Pref. 61 Richard Saunder was thenne therof seised in his demene as of fee symple. 1502Reg. Privy Seal Scot. I. 115/1 Lanndis..quhilk his grantschir..deit last vestit and sesit in. 1558Mortgage in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. v. 183 That he the said Thomas Dunkyn, the daye of the makyng herof, is lawfully seased in his demeane as of fee. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. i. 89 Who by a Seal'd Compact,..Did forfeite..all those his Lands Which he stood seiz'd on. 1603T. M. True Narr. Entert. Jas. I B 2 b, The saide Bishop being thus seized of all the authoritie to the Kings Maiesties vse. 1607Davies 1st Let. to Earl of Salisbury (1787) 225 It was found that Sir John O'Relie was seized of the country in fee, and died seized. 1716M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 77 It appears that he died seiz'd of Lands in Slacksted in Hampshire. a1768Erskine Inst. Law. Scot. iii. viii. §83 (1773) 587 This holds though the lands had been adjudged from the ancestor during his life,..if the ancestor died seised, and in the possession of the lands. 1827Jarman Powell's Devises II. 103 If a devisor, being seised of both Blackacre and Whiteacre, devise Blackacre to A. in fee. 1844Williams Real Prop. (1877) 105 The person last seized (or feudally possessed). a1845Polson Eng. Law in Encycl. Metrop. II. 827/1 The Statute of Uses..which provides, that where one is seised of lands, &c. to the use of another, he who has the use shall become seised of the lands. 1872‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It xxii, We were land⁓owners now, duly seised and possessed.
†c. Without const.: To endow, dower. Obs.
c1430How Wise Man taught Son in Babees Bk. (1868) 51 For ritchesse take hir neuere þe more Þouȝ sche wolde þee boþe feffe & ceese.
2. transf.
a. in Passive, to be seized (seised) of or † with: to be in possession of. Now only arch. and with conscious allusion to the legal use. Formerly often influenced by sense 5, 6, or 7, † to have seized, to hold as the result of seizing.
c1477Caxton Jason 81 b, And thus..thou mayst retourne with glorie in to thy countre and be seased with the noble fliese of gold. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xxxi. 94 Whan Huon sawe that he was sessyd of his horne of Iuorey he was ioyfull. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 8 As when a Gryfon, seized of his pray, A Dragon fiers encountreth in his flight. 1594Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits xiv. (1596) 257 Temperat men are seized of the wisdom and knowledge requisit to the calling of a king. 1612Brerewood Lang. & Relig. (1614) Pref. ⁋⁋1 b, Those (as they vsually stile them) of the Religion..are seased of aboue 70 Townes. 1628Hobbes Thucydides (1629) 58 The Outlawes of Bœotia being seazed of Orchomenus and Chæronea,..the Athenians made Warre vpon those places. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxx. 122 If any that sell Goose Eggs do chance to be taken siesed with Hens eggs..they are presently punished with thirty lashes. 1659T. Pecke Parnassi Puerp. 159 Seventy six years his Lungs were seis'd of Breath. 1710Hearne Leland's Itin. I. Pref. 13 By this means Sir John became seiz'd of far the largest parcel of this great man's writings. 1713Addison Cato iii. vii, So Pluto, seiz'd of Proserpine, convey'd To hell's tremendous gloom th' affrighted maid. a1715Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 6 Being seized of his Mother's Crown, while she was an exile and a prisoner. 1885Gladstone Sp. in Standard 14 Apr., I have no doubt that in due time Parliament will be seised of that correspondence. 1896A. J. Balfour Sp. in Daily News 18 Mar. 3/3 So far as I am seised of the case..it appears to me that [etc.].
†b. refl. To take possession of, to seize on; = senses 6, 7, 9. [So F. se saisir de.]
1579J. Stubbes Gaping Gulf C 4 b, The French king was not ashamed to excite John the brother of England to seize himselfe of the crowne. a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (Sommer) 81 b, The Lion..was ready to seaze him selfe on the pray. Ibid. iii. 295 b, Death began to seaze him selfe of his harte.
†3.
a. To settle, establish in a place; to place, seat, fix. Obs.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 5637 Twyse sex Semylacris sesid he þar-vndire. 14..Siege of Jerusalem (E.E.T.S.) 1/2 Sir Sesar hym sulf seysed in rome. c1430in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 165 For þee y suffride greet repreef, In hiȝ heuene þi soule to ceese Y was an-hangid as a þeef. 1513Douglas æneis xiii. ii. 106, I sall ȝou seis and induce now, but weir, In far largear rewardis mychtely. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. I. 118 The lordis..Hes seisit him syne in his sepulture. Ibid. II. 247 Tha buir his bodie to Ecolumkill..Syne sesit him thair into sepultiur. 1535Lyndsay Satyre 8 The Father and founder of faith and felicitie..Gif ȝow all that I sie seasit in this place [etc.]. 1589R. Bruce Serm. (1843) 118 He makes his Son to come down, to sease himself in the womb of the Virgin. 1594A. Hume Epist. to Rdr. 19 The filthie vice and corruption that naturallie is seased in the harts of all men. 1600in T. Stafford Pac. Hib. i. xvii. (1633) 104 Considering the Gentleman was ceased in my Countrie, and had my word. 1633T. Stafford Ibid. ii. x. 190 The Soveraigne with his white rod in his hand, going to billet, and cease them in severall houses.
b. Of a beast of prey: To fasten (its claws) upon. Obs.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 19 When that disdainfull beast..him suddaine doth surprize, And seizing cruell clawes on trembling brest Vnder his Lordly foot him proudly hath supprest. Ibid. i. viii. 15 The cruell beast Who on his necke his bloudie clawes did seize. 1596Ibid. v. iv. 40 As when a Beare hath seiz'd her cruell clawes Vppon the carkasse of some beast too weake.
†4. To give possession of, grant. Obs.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 5220 Þe maistir out of Messedone ȝow maynly enjoynes, If ȝe ȝoure cite will saue to sese him his brid. c1450Erle Tolous 1199 He made hym steward of hys londe, And sesyd agayne into hys honde That he had rafte hym froo. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 8230 All betwene tyne and teese, To durham mynster þai þaim seese.
II. To take possession.
5. a. Of a feudal superior or a sovereign (or one acting on his behalf): To take possession of, confiscate (the property of a vassal or subject). Also, to annex (a country) to one's own dominions. Phrases, to seize into one's hands, † seize to one's behoof.
c1290Beket 705 in S. Eng. Leg. 126 Þe king sende is men sone to saisi al is lond And al-so al is bischopriche ase is traitores, In-to is hond. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10125 Þe king of france orn vpe þe king Ion, & is londes biȝonde se seisede anon, Aquitayne & normandie. a1300Havelok 2513 Þanne he was ded..Sket was seysed al þat his was In þe kinges hand il del, Lond and lith, and oþer catel. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2703 For first he slow þe kyng Pyncer, & seysed þe lond til his byhoue. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 287 Þe kyng made seyse into his hond al þe temporalte of clerkes. 1447–8J. Shillingford Lett. (Camden) 96 The said Citie..was seised into the saide King Edward's hondes. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 677 Roger Mortimer..seised also this Chirck, into his possession. 1613R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Seize, to forfaite to the prince. 1723Lond. Gaz. No. 6174/3 A Grey..Horse..was..seized into the Hands of the Lord of the Manor..as Felons Goods. 1750Carte Hist. Eng. II. 231 Three of his principal castles were, for his contempt of the court, to be seized into the King's hands. 1763J. Brown Poetry & Music viii. 161 It was held an Act of Sacrilege to seize their Estates, even for the public Service. 1829Scott Anne of G. xix, The Duke of Burgundy's attempt to seize that fief into his own hands. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 34 The estates of the fallen King..were no doubt at once seized into the King's hands.
b. To take possession of (goods) in pursuance of a judicial order.
1482in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (1903) 9 One Robert Bonyfaunt as one of the clerkes..in the Superuysershipp of your Custumes..shold sease and arreste..to your vse at Topsam..a hundreth peces of crescloth. 1581Lambarde Eiren. ii. vii. (1588) 207 Every Iustice of the Peace may..seaze all the goods of any outlandish persons (calling themselves Egyptians) that shall come into this Realme. 1716Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) V. 186 James Newlin was put into y⊇ Ground last night, for fear they should seize his Body. 1733Gentl. Mag. May 266/2 The Watchmen..seized 1100 Weight of uncustom'd Tea. c1733J. P. du Plessis in Pepys' Diary (1879) VI. 259 Being quite moneyless, and in danger of having my goods seized for rent. 1782F. Burney Cecilia v. viii, The house was seized before ever I could get nigh it. 187822nd Rep. Customs Comm. 58 The tobacco seized on these several occasions weighed 2,601 lbs. 1885Brett in Law Rep. 14 Q.B.D. 878 Goods..which the sheriff could rightfully seize under the writ.
c. To arrest, apprehend (a person). Cf. 6 b.
1471Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) 131 That ye sease the persones of thaim alle as ferforthly as ye may sette hand vpon thaim. 1910Daily Mail 8 Feb. 7/5 The rare occurrence of ‘seizing’ a jury..was witnessed at Manchester Assizes yesterday.
6. a. To take possession of by force; to capture (a city); to take as plunder.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 47 Knoute & Edrik þei seised [Langtoft ont pris] þorgh tresone Bokyngham & Bedford, þe toun of Huntyngtone. 1375Barbour Bruce x. 108 The king in hy gert sess the pray Off all the land. 1390Gower Conf. II. 248 The flees of gold he shulde sese. a1400–50Wars Alex. 1452 Gase forth to gaza ane othre grete cite, And he settes on a sawte and seses it beliue. 1481Caxton Myrr. i. v. 25 The riche haue now in thise dayes seased somoche that the poure abide naked. 1607Heywood Woman kild with Kindnes Wks. 1874 II. 146 There, take her to thee, if thou hast the heart To ceize her as a rape or lustfull prey. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 149 There they would have seized our Mules to carry Provisions for the king to Ispahan. 1864Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. xii. (1875) 184 Posen and Galicia were seized by Prussia and Austria, a.d. 1772. 1883R. W. Dixon Mano ii. vii. 93 Robbers, who seized church goods without remorse.
b. To take prisoner, to catch.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 4119 His seggis sesid of þam [sc. the bearded women] sum & to him-selfe broȝt. c1400Destr. Troy 1513 He was enformyt..how his towne was takon..his suster sesyd and soght into syde londis. 1609Heywood Brit. Troy iv. xxix, Nor can his troubled sences be appeas'd Till as a Traitor he Prince Ioue hath ceas'd. 1682Bunyan Holy War To Rdr. 92, I heard the Prince bid Boanerges go Up to the Castle, and there siese his foe. 1777Watson Philip II, iii. I. 72 The inhabitants..seized his person, and confined him in the castle. 1827Hist. Mod. Europe II. lii. 14 By putting to death all the Turks whom they had seised before the battle.
7. a. To take hold of with the hands, claws, teeth, etc.; in mod. use, to take hold of suddenly or eagerly, to clutch.
13..Coer de L. 78 Her men aborde gunne to stande, And sesyd that other. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 822 Sere seggez hym sesed by sadel, quel he lyȝt. c1350Will. Palerne 1236 He sesed a spere, & dressed him to þe duk presteli to iuste. c1374Chaucer Compl. Mars 240 And lyke a fissher as men alday may se Bateth hys angle-hoke with summe plesaunce Til mony a fissch ys wode to that he be Sesed therwith. 1390Gower Conf. I. 260 This kniht..hath him be the bridel sesed. c1450Merlin xxxii. 649 He stombeled on his clubbe, and it sesed. 1513Douglas æneis iii. ii. 15 Delos..Quham..Apollo..Sesit and band betuix vther ilis twa. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 33 Had I beene ceazed by a hungry Lion, I would haue [etc.]. 1609Heywood Brit. Troy iv. lxxxvi, The Crones his bounty praise, And in their hands two costly Iewels cease. 1717Pope Iliad xii. 260 Allow'd to seize, but not possess the Prize. 1797Ht. Lee Canterb. T., Old Wom. T. (1799) I. 373 Lothaire abruptly seized him by the arm. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 477, I seized the books and read them as fast as I could. 1879Lubbock Sci. Lect. 36 If you touch an ant with a needle or a bristle, she is almost sure to seize it in her jaws.
b. transf. of inanimate things.
1673Temple Observ. Un. Prov. iii. 122 The Sea..yielding up what it had seized, and seizing what it had yielded up. 1818Accum Chem. Tests 261 The barytes seizes the acid.
†c. to seize up: ? to haul up (a sail). Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 3241 Þai shot into shippe..sesit vp þere sailes, set hom to wyndes. Ibid. 4619 All the company..knyt vp hor ancres, Sesit vp hor sailes in a sad hast.
d. to seize hold of: to take hold of suddenly and roughly: cf. take v. 69, hold n.1 2.
1839F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 84, I was seized hold of by a hideous old negress.
8. In various figurative uses.
a. With impersonal subject, e.g. death, disease, calamity: To oppress or attack suddenly. Also of a fear, a belief, etc.: To take sudden possession of (a person, his mind). In passive often const. with (less frequently by).
c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 481 Til that deth me sese, I wele ben heris. c1425Cast. Persev. 246 in Macro Plays 84 Þou synne my sowle sese, I ȝeue not a myth. c1585Montgomerie Sonnets xxxv. 7 Suppose my silly saull with sin be seasde. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 42 A fantasm bred by the feaver which had then seis'd him. 1659Hammond On Ps. lxxxix. 48 We are borne miserable, and pass through a succession of miseries here, and are shortly seised with death. 1700Dryden Sigism. & Guisc. 205 A welcome Heaviness that seiz'd his Eyes. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. iii. §3 Seized and rapt with this sublime idea. 1757Gray Bard 1 Ruin seize thee, ruthless King! 1797Ht. Lee Canterb. T., Old Wom. T. (1799) I. 372 [He] was seized with dizziness. 1830R. Knox Béclard's Anat. 67 Putrefaction always..seizes it at the end of a short period. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 7 A nation, indifferent to the creeds, is seized with a sudden passion for ecclesiastical art. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 171 The young prince..was seized by the small pox. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxxxiv. 10 Sudden a solemn fright seized us.
b. Of an object of perception, a fact, etc., hence of a speaker, writer, or artist: To arrest, hold (the attention), to impress irresistibly (the mind, etc.).
1772Sir J. Reynolds Disc. v. (1876) 374 Carlo Maratti..rarely seizes the imagination by exhibiting the higher excellencies. 1865,1886[see seizing ppl. a. 2].
c. To avail oneself eagerly or dexterously of, take advantage of (an opportunity). Also, to take (a resolution) decisively.
1618Chapman Hesiod's Georg. ii. 487 Thy selfe, if well in yeares; thy wife take home, Not much past thirtie; But being yong thy selfe; Nuptialls that sease, The times best season in their acts are these [that follow]. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xv. 317 Where her resolutions once seis'd, she would never let go her hold. 1809Roland Fencing 86 At the instant, therefore, I perceive him turn his wrist, I seize the moment he expects to strike my blade. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 433 Whether the opportunity should be seized or lost it did not belong to him to decide. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vi, The latter seized the occasion to propound this question.
d. To grasp with the mind or perceptive faculties; to apprehend.
1855Bain Senses & Int. ii. ii. §8 Its peculiar character or tone cannot be seized by any descriptive phrase. 1861Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. v. 290 The reader must firmly seize and keep before his eyes the essential difference between deduction..and induction. 1865M. Arnold Ess. Crit. viii. (1875) 321 A beauty which a foreigner cannot perfectly seize. 1873Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 1019 Sit on the little mound here, whence you seize The whole of the gay front sun-satisfied. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith ii. 69 It is the infinite which the intellect can seize but not embrace.
9. intr. with various constructions.
a. to seize on or seize upon = to seize (in senses 6–8). Also, in the same sense, † to seize of (obs. rare).
1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 49 Thanne cometh þer a congioun..And sesith on hir sete with hir softe plumes. 1546in Sel. Pleas Crt. Admiralty (1894) I. 148 The sayde Leonard Sumpter..toke and seased uppon the same as lawfull wayff and thynge forsaken. 1600W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 64 The English: a nation apt to ceaze of euery noueltie. 1600Holland Livy xxxiii. 835 With these forces Pausistratus encamped in the territorie of Stratonicea, and there hee seized of a commodious place. 1672Essex Papers (Camden) 2 Yt at any Time 40 desperat fellows may either ceese on it or blow it up. 1672Stillingfl. Serm. xi. Wks. 1710 I. 151 We find the best of men in Scripture seized on with a very unusual consternation at any extraordinary divine appearance. 1768Earl Carlisle in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) II. 276, I make a point of seizing upon every leisure moment to thank you for your constant attention. 1800tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 217 The liquid carbonates contained in the bottles, which are decomposed in proportion as the sulphurous acid expels the carbonic acid to seize on the bases. 1842Borrow Bible in Spain xxxiv, A morbid melancholy seized upon the Irishman. 1899E. Callow Old Lond. Tav. ii. 302 The Gardens were demolished and the jerry builder seized upon the ground.
†b. Of a stroke, a weapon: To penetrate deeply in. Obs.
1590Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 38 The mortall sting his angry needle shot Quite through his shield, and in his shoulder seasd. Ibid. ii. viii. 38 But th'other on his hacqueton did lyte, The which diuiding..It seizd in his right side, and there the dint did stay. 1600Fairfax Tasso vii. xli. 125 The wicked steele seaz'd deepe in his right side.
c. To grasp or clutch at. rare.
1848Thackeray Van. Fair lxvi, Then he..gave him a note. William seized at it rather eagerly.
III. Technical senses.
10. trans. (Naut.).
†a. To reach, arrive at (= make v. 65 b). Also with in. Obs.
1588Fenner in Defeat Sp. Armada (Navy Rec Soc.) II. 41 Thereby the enemy was able neither to seize England, Ireland, Scotland, Flanders, and hardly the out isles of Scotland. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 17 Since now safe ye seised haue the shore, And well arriued are. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (Camden) 75, I seeing that the great sattia could not worke to seaze the shore, I bore up to her. 1635L. Foxe N.-W. Fox 127 The wind would not permit him to seize in that N. shore.
b. To fasten (two ropes or parts of a rope) together, or to attach (a rope) to something else, by binding with marline, yarn, or the like. to seize up: to fasten (a man) by the wrists to the shrouds, in preparation for a flogging.[A use of F. saisir; the proximate source may be Du. seizen; the word was adopted in other Teut. langs.: G. seisen, Sw. sejsa, Da. seise. The use 7 c seems unconnected.] 1644H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict., To Sease or Seasing, is to make fast..any roapes together with some small roape⁓yarne, marling or any line. 1747Gentl. Mag. XVII. 486 By the time the new breachings were all seized, I was got almost alongside the Trident. 1778[see gammet]. 1817J. Martin Tonga Isl. I. 4 They were seized up and received a dozen lashes each. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xv, Sam..was seized up, as it is called, that is, placed against the shrouds, with his wrists made fast to them, his jacket off, and his back exposed. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 227 Boat-hooks fitted with a stout lanyard, ending in an eye, secured to the hook, and seized two-thirds down the staff. 1895Outing (U.S.) XXVI. 47/1 Next, seize the luff of the sail to the mast hoops with marline.
11. intr. (Mech.) Also with up. Of a machine or mechanism: to stick, jam, or lock fast; to become unworkable, as by reason of undue heat or friction. Also fig.
1878A. Rigg Steam Engine 128 The surfaces of motion blocks and side bars are found to wear exceedingly well when..efficient lubrication exists; but in the event of failure in this respect the metallic surfaces become dry, and their friction engenders so much heat that there is a liability of a kind of union taking place between the two surfaces, technically called ‘seizing’. 1908Westm. Gaz. 28 Sept. 10/3 We were given..paraffin for lubricating oil. Through this one of the bearings of our crank-axle ‘seized’. 1917Blackw. Mag. May 807/1 Our engine recovered slightly now that its recovery was not so important, and it behaved well until it seized up for better or worse when we had landed. 1963Listener 31 Jan. 198/2 As for the camera itself, at 40 below zero the wind-on mechanism jammed and the range-finder seized up. 1981P. Audemars Gone to her Death ii. 44 Better we should find the trouble on our hoist rather than having something seize up on the main road.
fig.1955Cormack & McDougall in C. Morris Social Case-Work in Gt. Britain (ed. 2) i. 35 When the social service system was primitive it could do without case-work: the more elaborate modern machine would seize up. 1960C. Day Lewis Buried Day ix. 182, I read the book; then, for hour after hour, I sat trying to think of something to say about it. I could not... My brain had seized up. 1976Dexter & Makins Testkill 100 Any exercise..might make me seize up.
Hence seize-up Mech., the action or state of seizure (cf. sense 11 of the vb.).
1912Motor Man. (ed. 14) vi. 232 Unless one makes quite certain that every bearing and cylinder be properly relubricated before starting up again, a ‘seize-up’..is not improbable.
▪ III. seize
variant of sess v., Obs. |