Other forms: besieged, besieging, besieges
To besiege is to surround a place with an army, or to press in on somebody. Besiege the castle.
The figurative use is commoner now, since a person can be besieged by letters or reporters. To besiege a place is to wait rather than to attack, which is why sieges last so long.
1verbbesiegeTo surround a place with an army, or to press in on somebody.
“Reporters would besiege the house for a fortnight after any hearing.”
besiege is a surrounding.
Be- plus siege, from Old French sege, a seat, since a besieging army sat down before a town.
Proto-Indo-European
*sed-
Middle English
besegen
English, today
besiege
From Middle English besegen, bisegen, equivalent to be + siege.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA