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besetment

 - 2 dictionary results

be⋅set

  [bi-set]
Use besetment in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -set, -set⋅ting.
1. to attack on all sides; assail; harass: to be beset by enemies; beset by difficulties.
2. to surround; hem in: a village beset on all sides by dense forest.
3. to set or place upon; bestud: a gold bracelet beset with jewels.
4. Nautical. to surround (a vessel) by ice, so that control of the helm is lost.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME besetten, OE besettan. See be-, set

Related forms:
be⋅set⋅ment, noun
be⋅set⋅ter, noun

Synonyms:
2. encircle, enclose, besiege, beleaguer. 3. stud, decorate, ornament.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To besetment
be·set   (bĭ-sět')   
tr.v.   be·set, be·set·ting, be·sets

  1. To attack from all sides.

  2. To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack.

  3. To hem in; surround: "the mountains which beset it round" (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

  4. To stud, as with jewels.


[Middle English bisetten, from Old English besettan; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]
be·set'ment n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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