Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To address an earnest or urgent request to; implore: synonym: beg.
  • transitive verb To request earnestly; beg for.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A request: as, “such submiss beseeches,”
  • To entreat; supplicate; implore; ask or pray with urgency: followed by a personal object.
  • To beg eagerly for; solicit: followed by the thing solicited.
  • Synonyms Ask, Request, Beg, etc. (see ask), plead for or with, petition, conjure, appeal to.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Obs. or Poetic Solicitation; supplication.
  • transitive verb To ask or entreat with urgency; to supplicate; to implore.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To beg or implore.
  • noun archaic A request.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb ask for or request earnestly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English bisechen, from Old English besēcan : be-, be- + sēcan, to seek; see seek.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English besechen, bisechen, assibilated variants of Middle English beseken, from Old English *besēcan ("to seek or inquire about"), equivalent to be- +‎ seek. Cognate with Dutch bezoeken ("to attend, see"), German besuchen ("to visit, attend, see"), Swedish besöka ("to visit, go to see").

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Examples

Comments

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  • I hate this word.

    March 26, 2007

  • "I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken."

    September 5, 2007