besing

The story

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bisingwan“to sing about”
2. Old English · inherited frombesingan“to sing of, bewail, sing charms, enchant”
3. Middle English · inherited frombesingen
4. English todaybesing

From Middle English besingen, from Old English besingan (“to sing of, bewail, sing charms, enchant”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisingwan (“to sing about”), equivalent to be- (“of, about”) + sing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian besjunge (“to sing about”), West Frisian besjonge (“to sing about, praise”), Dutch bezingen (“to sing of, chant”), German besingen (“to sing of, sing the praises of”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål besynge (“to sing of”), Swedish besjunga (“to sing of”).