beseech
/bɪˈsiːt͡ʃ/verb
beseech is spelled B-E-S-E-E-C-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, beseech means “To beg or implore something of (a person)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in beseech?
| Letters | 7: B-E-S-E-E-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,832nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is beseech?
Beseech appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce beseech?
- /bɪˈsiːt͡ʃ/
Beseech has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-beseech.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of beseech
- beseeches present, singular, he/she/it
- beseeching participle, present
- beseeched participle, past
- besought participle, past
- beseek
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does beseech mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To beg or implore something of (a person).
- 2
To beg or request for (something).
noun
- 1
archaicA request.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Beseech in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to beg:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prier, implorer, supplier |
| German | anflehen, ersuchen, bitten |
| Portuguese | rogar, implorar |
| Spanish | rogar, implorar, suplicar, impetrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does beseech come from?
From Middle English besechen, bisechen, prefixed form of Old English sēċan (“to seek or inquire about”); compare the doublet beseek, from the same dialect that gave seek. Cognate with Saterland Frisian besäike (“to visit”), Dutch bezoeken (“to visit, attend, see”), German besuchen (“to visit, attend, see”), Swedish besöka (“to visit, go to see”). By surface analysis, be- + seech.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).