Besiege

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /bəˈsiːd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. To surround a place with military forces to cut off supplies and force surrender ; to flood someone persistently with requests or demands
2. To block off and attack a location by encircling it to gain control ; to overwhelm a person with continuous questions or appeals
3. To close in on an area in order to capture it by cutting off access ; to inundate an individual with repeated inquiries or solicitations

Etymology: The verb "besiege" is a plain formation: the prefix "be-", meaning "around" or "about", attached to "siege". The English word "siege" came from Old French, where it meant a seat or a place to sit, and it took on the military sense of surrounding a fortified place only later, as armies settled down in front of walls to wait out their defenders. So the word began as a term about setting oneself down in a spot, and the attacking army's patient sitting-around gave it its battle sense. Middle English "besegen" and "bisegen" built the verb from that noun, so "besiege" literally meant to sit around a place. The image of waiting outside a walled town for it to run out of food and surrender explains the military core. The extended sense of overwhelming someone with relentless questions or requests grew from the same picture: a crowd or a demand that surrounds a person and will not move until it gets what it wants.

Synonyms: surround, blockade, lay siege to, encircle, assail

Antonyms: defend, protect, safeguard