besit

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bisitjaną“to sit near, sit among or around”
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bisittjan
3. Old English · inherited frombesittan“to sit round, surround, beset, besiege, hold, council, occupy, possess”
4. Middle English · inherited frombesitten
5. English todaybesit

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).