Besetment

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The condition of being continually troubled or weighed down by difficulties or fears
2. A situation marked by persistent problems or challenges that surround and burden someone
3. The experience of ongoing distress, hardship, or affliction affecting a person or group

Etymology: "Besetment" is a plain formation: the verb "beset" with the noun-forming suffix "-ment" added to it. "Beset" itself comes from Old English "besettan," built from the prefix "be-" and "settan," meaning "to set" or "to place," so the underlying idea is of setting something around a person or thing, hemming it in on every side. That physical image of surrounding is what carries over into the sense of being pressed upon by troubles. The suffix has a longer ancestry. "-ment" comes through Old French "-ment" from Latin "-mentum," a suffix that turned verbs into nouns naming a result, a means, or a state, as in "monumentum," something that serves to remind. English has used it for centuries to form nouns like "judgment" and "argument," and it attaches readily to verbs, so "besetment" follows an ordinary pattern rather than a special coinage.

Synonyms: trouble, affliction