From 'be-' (thoroughly) + 'sechen' (to seek), PIE *seh₂g- — to seek with desperate thoroughness, an intensified form of 'seek.'
To implore urgently or fervently; to beg earnestly for something.
From Middle English 'bisechen,' from 'bi-' (about, by, thoroughly) + 'sechen' (to seek), from Old English 'sēcan' (to seek, to search for). The prefix intensifies the seeking — to beseech is to seek with desperation, surrounding a person with urgent entreaty. The Old English 'sēcan' comes from Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną, from PIE *seh₂g- (to seek out, to track, to investigate). The PIE root *seh₂g- also produced Gothic 'sōkjan' (to seek), Old Norse 'sœkja' (to seek, to attack), and German 'suchen' (to seek). In early Modern English, 'beseech' was the standard elevated word for earnest petition — it appears