ppl. a. [f. prec. vb. + -ED1.]
1. Invested or surrounded by hostile forces.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 27. Besegyde, obsessus.
1603. in Shaks. C. Praise, 57. Of Helens rape and Troyes beseiged Towne.
1795. Southey, Joan of Arc, VI. 158. Our foes Haply may … quit in peace Besieged Orleans.
b. absol. The people besieged.
1603. Knolles, Hist. Turkes (1638), 320. Offering vnto the besieged … easie conditions of peace.
1863. Stanley, Jew. Ch., xi. 239. The besieged and the besiegers alike were taken by surprise.
2. transf. Beset by an importunate crowd.
1866. Crump, Banking, ii. 55. The funds … were instantly returned to the besieged bank.
