English
obsidional
Obsidional comes from Latin obsidiō ‘siege, blockade’, from obsideō ‘beset, besiege, hem in’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-1‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sedéh₁yeti1reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēō1‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeō1‘to sit’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsideō2as obsidēre‘beset, besiege, hem in’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsidiō2‘siege, blockade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsidiōnālis2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obsidional2
- Englishearliest quotation 1846–1847obsidional2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin obsideo
- 2 Wiktionary, English obsidional
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846–1847, Henry Edward Napier, Miscellaneous Chapter for the Fifteenth Century: “Nor was this strong geographical position her [Florence's] only…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-Wiktionary, Latin obsideo‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sedéh₁yetiWiktionary, Latin obsideoreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*sedēōWiktionary, Latin obsideo‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsedeōWiktionary, Latin obsideo‘to sit’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsideōWiktionary, English obsidionalas obsidēre‘beset, besiege, hem in’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsidiōWiktionary, English obsidional‘siege, blockade’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEobsidiōnālisWiktionary, English obsidional
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500obsidionalWiktionary, English obsidional
- Englishearliest quotation 1846–1847obsidionalWiktionary, English obsidional. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846–1847, Henry Edward Napier, Miscellaneous Chapter for the Fifteenth Century: “Nor was this strong geographical position her [Florence's] only…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
set, sell, seat, method, sitting, chair, sit, settle, nest, possess, niche, saddle, exodus, nye, beset, subsidy, prasad, cathode, soot, setter, anode, chaise, sate, ersatz, besiege, salo, nias, polyhedron, nidal, 79 more
through Proto-Italic *sedēō ‘to sit, to be sitting, to be seated’
possession, assessor, presidente, assize, 22 more
through Latin sedeō ‘to sit’
president, size, session, resident, assess, siege, sedan, reside, sediment, residue, sedentary, residual, possessive, sedative, sedate, dissident, insidious, seance, sessile, presidio, presidium, 25 more
through Latin obsideō ‘beset, besiege, hem in’
Today it means
adj Pertaining to a siege.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “obsidional”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin obsideo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / obsidional