besit

besit means to sit around; sit about; besiege.

Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, besit ranks #3,411 of 42,747 for Qualifying.

Etymology

From Middle English besitten, from Old English besittan (“to sit round, surround, beset, besiege, hold, council, occupy, possess”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisittjan, from Proto-Germanic *bisitjaną (“to sit near, sit among or around”), equivalent to be- + sit. Cognate with Dutch bezitten, German besitzen, Norwegian Bokmål besitte, Danish besidde, Swedish besitta, Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bisitan).

verb

To sit around; sit about; besiege.e.g.“When not deep in thought, his blue eyes dance. I feel sometimes that behind his thoughtful gaze besits a hint of strain.” — 2003, Lawrence Murray, The Kassandra Complex, page 473:
To sit upon; occupy.e.g.“In such contexts, the ישבים are those who “besit” large estates and seats of judgment and power. The ישב par excellence is the king who “besits” the throne.” — 2006, Philip Francis Esler, Ancient Israel: The Old Testament in Its Social Context, page 157:
To sit properly upon, as clothes; to suit; become.

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

beseat 65% match — To make seated; to seat. vs besit →
atsit 64% match — To remain sitting; stay; abide. vs besit →
besiege 64% match — To beset or surround with armed forces for the purpose of compelling to surrender, to lay siege to, beleaguer. vs besit →
beset 63% match — Senses relating to surrounding.; To assail or attack (someone) from all sides; to set about. vs besit →
besieging 63% match — The act by which a place is besieged. vs besit →
besiegement 62% match — The act of besieging. vs besit →
oversit 61% match — To preside over, govern, rule; to control. vs besit →
outsit 61% match — To remain sitting, waiting, or in session, longer than, or beyond the time of; to outstay. vs besit →