besiegedadj.
/bɪˈsiːdʒd/ 1.
a. Invested or surrounded by hostile forces.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > action or state of siege or blockade > [adjective] > besieged or blockaded
assieged1383
besiegedc1440
ysegede?a1475
sieged1567
invested1582
beleaguered1644
leaguered1720
blockaded1747
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 27 Besegyde, obsessus.
1603 in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 57 Of Helens rape and Troyes besieged Towne.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc vi. 158 Our foes Haply may..quit in peace Besieged Orleans.
b. absol. The people besieged.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > warrior > defender > [noun] > the besieged
besieged1603
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 320 Offering vnto the besieged..easie conditions of peace.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. xi. 239 The besieged and the besiegers alike were taken by surprise.
2. transferred. Beset by an importunate crowd.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > [adjective]
slatc1300
bested1303
forswonga1400
vexed1440
plagued1563
molested1580
bustled1602
grieved1627
travailed1644
over-troubled1646
harassed1693
baited1720
badgered1794
gêné1806
bedevilled1827
besieged1866
1866 A. Crump Pract. Treat. Banking ii. 55 The funds..were instantly returned to the besieged bank.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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adj.c1440