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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

for-

/fɔː(ɹ)/
Forth: prefixed to verbs to indicate a direction of 'away', 'off', 'forth'.

    Etymology graph

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    • derived
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    • meaning component
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English for-, vor-, ver-, from Old English for-, fer-, fær-, fyr- (“far, away, completely”, prefix), from the merger of Proto-Germanic *fra- ("away, away from"; see fro, from) and Proto-Germanic *fur-, *far- (“through, completely, fully”), from Proto-Indo-European *pro-, *per-, *pr-. Cognate with Scots for-, West Frisian fer-, for-, Dutch ver-, German ver-, Swedish för-, Danish for-, Norwegian for-, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰- (fra-), Latin pro-. More at for.

    Etymology 3

    "Occurring only in words adopted from French, as forcatch v., forfeit n., forprise n., represents Old French for-, fors-, identical with fors adv. (modern French hors) outside, out."

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*per- “produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishfor-
      • inheritedOld Englishfor-
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*fra- “for-, prefix meaning ‘completely, fully’”
    • derivedEnglishFrench “The language of France, shared by the neighboring countries Belgium, Monaco, and Switzerland and by…”
      • inheritedMiddle EnglishFrensch
        • derivedOld EnglishFrencisċ
      • borrowedEnglishterms
      • derivedEnglishan “Used before a vowel sound.”
        • inheritedMiddle Englishan “and, if”
        • derivedEnglishHollow
        • derivedEnglish1390
        • derivedEnglishintermittent “Stopping and starting, occurring, or presenting at intervals; coming after a particular time span.”
        • derivedEnglishdraoi “druid”
        • derivedEnglishpidgin “An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a …”
        • derivedEnglishLenape “A member of a group of aboriginal Americans who were living in what is now New Jersey and along the…”
        • derivedEnglisha “The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.”
        • derivedEnglishwhich “What, of those mentioned or implied.”
        • derivedMiddle Frenchescuirie
        • derivedEnglishaden “mountain”
        • partEnglishwil “will”
        • derivedEnglishor “Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc., each of which could mak…”
        • derivedMiddle Frenchbougette “little pouch”
        • derivedEnglishplaisance “pleasance”
        • derivedEnglishPowhatan “A member of a Native American confederation of tribes in Virginia.”
        • derivedEnglishsordidus “dirty, vile”
        • derivedCantonese胡
        • derived (possibly)Englishdugan “to avail, serve”
        • derivedEnglishWaltheri
        • derivedEnglishweald “A forest or wood.”
        • derivedEnglishsunna “sun”
        • partEnglishhæle “warrior, hero”
        • derivedEnglishepisode “A discrete but connected event, situation, or period within a broader sequence, narrative, or life …”
        • partEnglishburh “A fortified dwelling place belonging to a king or noble; a prehistoric fort.”
        • partEnglishhealh
        • borrowedGeorgianან
        • inheritedOld Englishān “one”
      • derivedEnglishCorsica “An island and administrative region of France, in the Mediterranean to the north of Sardinia.”
        • borrowedLatinCorsica
      • derivedEnglishcire “A fabric with a glazed finish.”
        • derivedEnglishciré “Having a shiny, glossy surface, often due to the application of wax or heat treatment.”
      • derivedEnglishLatin “Of or relating to Latin: the language spoken in ancient Rome and other cities of Latium.”
        • derivedEnglishJustus “A male given name from Latin.”
        • derivedEnglishAncient
        • derivedEnglishpēnultimus
        • derivedEnglishdilapidare “to destroy with stones”
        • partEnglishprae “before”
        • derivedEnglishnotare “to observe”
        • derivedEnglishvīndēmĭa “grape-gathering, vintage”
        • derivedEnglishcapillus
        • possiblyMedieval Latinrather
        • partAncient Greekφῐ́λος “loving”
        • partEnglishcor “Expression of surprise.”
        • partAncient Greekδελφύς “womb, uterus”
        • inheritedMiddle EnglishLatyn
        • inheritedMiddle EnglishLatin
        • derivedMiddle EnglishLatyn
      • partEnglishvive “lively, animated”
        • derivedLatinvīvus “alive”
      • derivedLatinofficīna “workshop”
        • partLatinopifex “a workman”
        • derivedLatinopificīna
        • partLatin-īna
      • derivedEnglishpaille “straw”
      • derivedEnglishthe “...because it has already been mentioned, is to be completely specified in the same sentence, or ve…”
        • derivedEnglish7th
        • derivedEnglishSweden “A country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Official name: Kingdom of Sweden. Capital: Stockholm.”
        • derivedEnglishJohn “A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle A…”
        • derivedEnglishEisen “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishMilonakis—himself
        • derivedEnglishmull “To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.”
        • derivedEnglishNîmes “A city, the capital of Gard department, Occitania, southern France, formerly in the region of Langu…”
        • derivedEnglishon “In the state of being active, functioning or operating.”
        • derivedEnglishpassio “suffering”
        • derivedEnglishmarine “Belonging to or characteristic of the sea; existing or found in the sea; formed or produced by the …”
        • derivedEnglishninny “A silly or foolish person.”
        • derivedEnglishlack “A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.”
        • derivedEnglishtalking “The action of the verb talk.”
        • derivedEnglishPlacerville “A city, the county seat of El Dorado County, California, United States.”
        • derivedEnglishinside “The interior or inner part.”
        • derivedEnglishacetylierte
        • derivedEnglishBlau “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishFahr “A surname from German.”
        • derived (possibly)EnglishMatthew “A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.”
        • derivedEnglishBMC
        • derivedLatin-plus “-ple”
        • derivedEnglishming “To mix, blend, mingle.”
        • derivedEnglishRuaghagain
        • derivedEnglishhome “One’s own dwelling place; the house or structure in which one lives; especially the house in which …”
        • derivedEnglishkind “A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may b…”
        • derivedEnglishits “Belonging to it.”
        • derivedEnglishfirst “Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.”
        • derivedEnglish1940
        • derivedProto-Germanic*landą “land”
        • derivedEnglishKohl “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishMöhn
        • derivedEnglishÓ “descendant”
        • derivedEnglishsmelting “The process of melting or fusion, especially to extract a metal from its ore.”
        • borrowedEnglishJapanese “Of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of Japan, its people, language, or culture.”
        • derivedEnglishDurst “A surname.”
        • partEnglish新 “new”
        • derivedEnglishcarrying “Transportation.”
        • derivedEnglishgunfire “Shots from a gun or guns, typically creating loud report.”
        • derivedEnglishseemingly “As it appears; apparently.”
        • derivedEnglishBusch “A surname.”
      • derivedMedieval Latinpancharta
      • derivedMohawk[Term?] “a kind of pike [fish]”
      • derivedLatinalveus “a hollow, cavity”
      • borrowedEnglishreblocher “to pinch a cow's udder again”
      • derivedEnglishWarsaw “The capital city of Poland; the capital city of Masovian Voivodeship.”
      • derivedEnglishmonter “to mount”
      • derivedEnglishorange “An evergreen tree of the genus Citrus such as Citrus sinensis which yields oranges (the fruit).”
      • partEnglishbel “A measure of relative power, defined as log₁₀(P ₁/P ₂), where P₁ and P₂ are the measured and refere…”
      • derivedEnglishtruite “trout”
      • derivedEnglishbredouiller “to stammer, to mumble”
      • derivedEnglishcran “A measure of herrings, either imprecise or sometimes legally specified. It has oftentimes been abou…”
      • derivedEnglishAlgonquian “Relating to a group of North American languages.”
      • borrowedEnglishOccitan “An endangered Romance language spoken in Occitania, a region of Europe that includes Southern Franc…”
      • partEnglishla “A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.”
      • partEnglishcher

    Related: Scots for-, West Frisian fer-, Dutch ver-, German ver-, Swedish för-, Danish for-, Norwegian for-, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰-, Latin prō-

    Meanings

    prefix
    1. Forth: prefixed to verbs to indicate a direction of 'away', 'off', 'forth'.
    2. Exhausting: prefixed to verbs with the sense of wearing or exhausting oneself.
    3. Destructively: prefixed to verbs with the sense of destruction or pain.
    4. Wrongly: prefixed to verbs with the sense of wrongly, amorally.
    5. Neglectfully: prefixed to verbs with the sense of abstaining from or neglecting.
    6. Very: intensifying adjectives.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: for-