Siege Perilous

[ seej per-uh-luhs ]

noun

1. Arthurian Legend. a vacant seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the predestined finder of the Holy Grail and was fatal to pretenders.

Siege Perilous

noun

1. (in Arthurian legend) the seat at the Round Table that could be filled only by the knight destined to find the Holy Grail and that was fatal to anyone else

Word History and Origins

Origin of Siege Perilous¹

First recorded in 1425–75; from Old French siege perilleus “dangerous seat”; siege ( def ), perilous ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of Siege Perilous¹

from siege (in the archaic sense: a seat or throne)

Example Sentences

Shortly after being beaten down by a group of cyborg supervillains, a number of the heroes enter a mirror-like portal called the Siege Perilous.

From Washington Post

But I want America, someone, to create a Siege Perilous for Black Americans, a portal that can transport us into a world that doesn’t treat us as if we were disposable mutants.

From Washington Post

Enough would be a world that, like the Siege Perilous, lets us give one another the lives we are all entitled to.

From Washington Post

"Once Upon a Time" is, as it tends to do, expanding a solid fairy tale memory by twisting it just enough to change our perceptions, and the "Siege Perilous" episode goes so far as to take a bit of the sheen off of Camelot in the end.

From Los Angeles Times

The chair vacated by Lancelot is called the Siege Perilous, and Arthur had apparently never found anyone worthy enough to sit at the table in his chair since his betrayal.

From Los Angeles Times