beleaguer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈliː.ɡə/ (UK); /bɪˈli.ɡɚ/, /biˈli.ɡɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Dutch belegeren (“to besiege”),^[2][3][4] from Dutch be- (“around”) + leger (“camp”).^[2][3][5][4] Barnhart prefers Low German belegeren, a word of the same form.^[5][4] Etymonline calls it a word of the Flemish wars, and says the English spelling was influenced by the unrelated word league.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To surround or beset, generally with hostility (1589), and to besiege a town with troops (1590).^[6][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was used both literally and figuratively from the start.^[4] The military sense of investing a town has faded, and the word is now used mostly of people or places beset by troubles, especially in the form beleaguered.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1587 – first date given by Merriam-Webster.^[3]
• 1589 – to surround or beset.^[6][5]
• 1590 – to besiege a town with troops.^[6]
• 1611 – noun, a besieger (obsolete).^[6]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To trouble or harass persistently.
2. To surround with troops; to besiege.

Word family

• beleaguerment
• beleaguerer

Related words

• leaguer
• lair
• besiege

Usage notes

Random House lists harass, pester, badger, bother, vex, plague and hector as synonyms of the figurative sense.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House