This is the 11744th most frequent French word.
siégeait
"Siégeait" means "was sitting" or "was seated," often in the context of holding a position or being part of an official assembly.
The word 'siégeait' is the imparfait (past progressive) tense of 'siéger', a verb meaning 'to sit' or 'to hold a seat in an official function'; here, it describes a habitual action in the past.
Charles siégeait au conseil chaque semaine.
Charles was sitting at the council every week.
In this sentence, 'siégeait' is used literally to describe the position of an object (the statue) sitting on something (the pedestal).
La statue siégeait majestueusement sur le socle.
The statue was sitting majestically on the pedestal.
Here, 'siégeait' refers to the residence or formal positional state of the pope, marking its historical context during a specific period of time.