obsidional

English

WOTD – 24 January 2016

Etymology

From Middle English obsidional, from Latin obsidiōnālis, from obsidiō (“siege, blockade”), from obsidēre (“beset, besiege, hem in”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əbˈsɪdɪənəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Hyphenation: ob‧si‧di‧on‧al

Adjective

obsidional

1. Pertaining to a siege.
   • 1846–1847, Henry Edward Napier, “Miscellaneous Chapter for the Fifteenth Century”, in Florentine History, from the Earliest Authentic Records to the Accession of Ferdinand the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany. [...] In Six Volumes, volume IV, London: Edward Moxon, →OCLC, page 3:

     Nor was this strong geographical position her [Florence's] only bulwark; the capital itself in those unskilful days of obsidional tactics was deemed impregnable except through famine.

Derived terms

• obsidional coin
• obsidional crown

Translations

pertaining to a siege

• Dutch: belegerkundig, obsidionaal; in compounds: beleger (nl)-, belegering (nl)s-
• Finnish: piiritys- (fi)
• French: obsidional (fr)
• Italian: ossidionale
• Turkish: kuşatmasal