seize

Earlier seise, from Middle English seisen, sesen, saisen, from Old French seisir (“to take possession of; invest (person, court)”), from Early 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] Cognate to sake and Latin sagio (“to perceive acutely”).

• enPR: sēz, IPA^(key): /siːz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːz
• Homophones: seas, sees

seize (third-person singular simple present seizes, present participle seizing, simple past and past participle seized)

1. (transitive) To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture.

   Synonyms: clasp, grasp, grip; see also Thesaurus:grasp

2. (transitive) To take advantage of (an opportunity or circumstance).

   Synonym: jump on

3. (transitive) To take possession of (by force, law etc.).

   Synonyms: arrogate, commandeer, confiscate

   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, page 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, law) Alternative spelling of seise (“to vest ownership of an estate in land”).
6. (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

7. (transitive, obsolete) To fasten, fix.
8. (intransitive) To lay hold in seizure, by hands or claws (+ on or upon).
   • 1830, Robert Southey, Bunyan, page 21:

     The text which had seized upon his heart with such comfort and strength abode upon him for more than a year.

   to seize on the neck of a horse

9. (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.

10. (intransitive) To bind or lock in position immovably; see also seize up.

    Rust caused the engine to seize, never to run again.

11. (UK, intransitive) To submit for consideration to a deliberative body.
12. (law) (with of) To cause (an action or matter) to be or remain before (a certain judge or court).

    This Court will remain seized of this matter.

13. (transitive, intransitive, cooking) Of chocolate: to change suddenly from a fluid to an undesirably hard and gritty texture.
    • 2012, Martha Holmberg, Modern Sauces: More Than 150 Recipes for Every Cook, Every Day, page 235:

      Chocolate seizes if a small amount of water (or watery liquid such as brandy) finds its way into the chocolate while it is melting. […] If chocolate seizes, it will look grainy and matte rather than glossy and smooth.

• seizure

• “seize”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “seize”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Inherited from Middle French seze, from Old French seize, seze, from Latin sēdecim.

• IPA^(key): /sɛz/

• audio (France)

  (file)

• (Quebec) IPA^(key): [saiz]

• audio (Quebec)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛz

seize (invariable)

1. sixteen

• seizième

• six
• dix

• Louisiana Creole: sèz

• “seize”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Old French seize, from Latin sēdecim.

• Audio (Jersey)

  (file)

seize

1. (Jersey, Guernsey) sixteen