Etymograph

English

beset

Beset comes from Old English besettan ‘to set near, surround, beset’, from Proto-Germanic *bisatjaną ‘to fill, occupy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁epi‘at; near; on’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bisatjaną‘to fill, occupy’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bisattjanreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150besettan‘to set near, surround, beset’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500besetten
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1587beset

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁epi‘at; near; on’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bisatjaną‘to fill, occupy’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bisattjanreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150besettan‘to set near, surround, beset’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500besetten
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1587beset

Earliest quotation: a. 1587, Philip Sidney, Psalm XXIII. Dominus regit me.: “For thou, deere Lord, thou me besett'st; / Thy…”

Equivalent to be- + set

Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ‘at, near’

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bi ‘near, by’

Proto-Germanic *bi-

Proto-West Germanic *bi-

English be-

Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’

…

Proto-Germanic *satjaną ‘to set’

Proto-West Germanic *sattjan ‘to set’

Old English settan ‘to set’

Middle English setten ‘to seat’

English set

The story

By surface analysis, be- (prefix meaning ‘around; by, close to, near, next to’) + set.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’

president, size, sit, sitting, set, chair, sell, method, seat, session, resident, siege, niche, settle, saddle, nest, exodus, subsidy, possess, assess, reside, nye, residual, residue, sedan, insidious, sediment, dissident, prasad, cathode, soot, sedentary, anode, sedative, sate, sedate, setter, presidio, chaise, obsess, 96 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ‘at’

oblige, oblate, 6 more

Today it means

verb To assail or attack (someone) from all sides; to set about.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / beset

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