means The act of grabbing or taking hold of something suddenly and forcefully, whether a physical object, an opportunity, or, in machinery, the way moving parts grind to a frozen halt.

from From the Old French 'seisir,' meaning to take possession or put someone in legal control of property — a word steeped in feudal land law, where to 'seise' someone was to formally invest them with an estate. It likely traces back to a Germanic root related to 'sit' (to make sit, to settle in place). The legal sense of rightful possession survives in 'seisin,' while everyday English ran the other way, toward the sudden snatch.