leaguer

English

Etymology 1

From Dutch leger (“army”), itself derived from Proto-Germanic *legrą. Doublet of lair.

Noun

leaguer (plural leaguers)

1. A siege.

   We must break the leaguer of the city.

2. The camp of a besieging army; a camp in general.
   • 1616, Ben Jonson, The Devil Is an Ass:

     Your sutler's wife in the leaguer, of two blanks

Related terms

• beleaguered

Verb

leaguer (third-person singular simple present leaguers, present participle leaguering, simple past and past participle leaguered)

1. (obsolete) To besiege; to beleaguer.
2. To set up camp.
   • 1987, Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger:

     So we leaguer here, get some sleep pray God, we had damn all last night, everyone doing repairs till all hours...

Etymology 2

From league +‎ -er.

Noun

leaguer (plural leaguers)

1. (usually in compounds) A person in a league

   I'm not a major-leaguer; I just play baseball.

Related terms

• beer leaguer
• Little Leaguer
• major-leaguer
• non-leaguer
• Texas leaguer

 

Etymology 3

Related to lager.

Noun

leaguer (plural leaguers)

1. A measure of liquid.
   • 1794, Cape of Good Hope:

     Excise duty had to be paid on each leaguer of brandy exported.

   • 1819, The Glasgow Geography, page 41:

     5000 leaguers of rum went to Angola , for the purchase of slaves.

References

• Henry Yule, A[rthur] C[oke] Burnell (1903) “leaguer”, in William Crooke, editor, Hobson-Jobson […] , London: John Murray, […].

Anagrams

• glue ear, regulae