beleaguer
UK /bɪˈliː.ɡə/ · US /bɪˈli.ɡɚ/ verb
Forms beleaguers beleaguering beleaguered beleagure
Synonyms
beset belay encircle invest lay siege to badger harry plague bait bedevil persecute dog bullyrag besiege bug devil chevy give someone grief harass hound tease pester surround hem in circumvent
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch belegeren and/or Middle Low German belēgeren; equivalent to be- + lair. Compare also German belagern, Danish belejre. The English spelling was perhaps influenced by unrelated league.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [D. belegeren (akin to G. belagern, Sw. belägra, Dan. beleire); pref. be- = E. be- + leger bed, camp, army, akin to E. lair. See Lair.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “beleaguer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details