Where does “beset” come from?
Beset descends from Middle English besetten, from Old English besettan, from Proto-Germanic bisatjaną, combining Proto-Germanic bi- with a root from Proto-Indo-European sed- meaning to sit.
beset (English): To surround or hem in; To attack or assail,...
Definitions
- To surround or hem in; To attack or assail,...
Ancestry of “beset”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | besetten | — |
| 2 | Old English | besettan | to set near, surround, beset; set about; to put... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | bisatjaną | to occupy, fill |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | satjaną | to set, to place down |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sodéyeti | to set, to seat, to cause to sit |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |
Words derived from “beset”