Besiegements

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of surrounding a place with armed forces to cut off essential supplies and compel surrender
2. A military strategy involving encirclement to force a stronghold into submission through isolation
3. The process of laying siege to a location, effectively isolating it to force capitulation by denying resources and reinforcements

Etymology: "Besiegements" is the plural of "besiegement," which is formed from "besiege" plus the suffix "-ment." The base verb "besiege" comes from the prefix "be-," which here intensifies the sense of the root, combined with "siege," a word that goes back to Old French "sege," meaning seat or throne, and ultimately to Latin "sedere," to sit. The idea is that an army settles down around a fortified place and stays put. The suffix "-ment" turns the verb into a noun naming the act or result of the action, so a "besiegement" is the business of besieging itself. English has many such pairs, such as "judgment" from "judge" or "amazement" from "amaze," and "besiegement" follows that common pattern.