besiege

Where does the word "besiege" come from? It comes from Latin sedere, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Besiege’s story begins in Latin: sedere meant “to sit.” The root of 'siege', a sitting down before a town. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as asegier. 'be-' was added in English in place of French 'a-'. It reached English by 1300s as besiege. 'besieged by reporters' dates from the 1800s. Today, besiege means to surround with armed forces.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient sedere "to sit", the root of 'siege', a sitting down before a town.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval asegier "to besiege", 'be-' was added in English in place of French 'a-'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s besiege "to lay siege", 'besieged by reporters' dates from the 1800s.