Where does “beleaguered” come from?
Beleaguered comes from Dutch belegeren, Old English -od, Proto-Germanic -ōdaz, Proto-Indo-European -eh₂tos, and Proto-Indo-European -tós, tracing a suffix pattern expressing a completed state.
beleaguered (English): Besieged; surrounded by enemy troops; Beset by...
Definitions
- Besieged; surrounded by enemy troops; Beset by...
Ancestry of “beleaguered”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | beleaguer | To besiege; to surround with troops; To vex,... |
| 2 | Dutch | belegeren | to besiege |
| 3 | Dutch | leger | army, armed forces; form; bed, crib |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | leger | — |
| 5 | Old Dutch | *leger | — |
| 6 | Old Norse | legr | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | legrą | a lying, a place where one lies; camp |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | legʰ- | to lie |
Words derived from “beleaguered”