Etymology

besail

B3E1S1A1I1L1

Today it means: To attack or assail; lunge at or toward; assault. Full definition →

Middle English sailen
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromsailen“to attack”
  2. English todaybesail

From be- (“at, toward”) + sail (“to attack, assail”), from Middle English sailen (“to attack”), short for assailen (“to assail”).

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishsailen all →

sail

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.