The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is…

beleaguer (verb):
1 : besiege – a town beleaguered by an army a beleaguered city
2 : trouble, harass

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : English speakers created “beleaguer” from the Dutch word belegeren in the 16th century. “[Military men] will not vouchsafe . . . to use our ancient terms belonging to matters of war, but do call a camp by the Dutch name,” commented the English soldier and diplomat Sir John Smyth in 1590. The word for “camp” that he was referring to is “leaguer.” That term in turn comes from Dutch “leger,” which is one of the building blocks of “belegeren” (literally, “to camp around”). But neither “leaguer” nor “beleaguer” were in fact utterly foreign. Old English “leger,” the source of our modern “lair,” is related to the Dutch word. And the Old English “be-” (“about, around”), as seen in “besiege” and “beset,” is related to the Dutch prefix be- in “belegeren.”

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.