forfend en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /fə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /fɔɹˈfɛnd/ (General-American)
- /fɔːˈfɛnd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Middle English forfenden (“to ward off, protect, prohibit”), equivalent to for- + fend.
Meanings
-
(archaic) To prohibit; to forbid; to avert.
2008, Lew, short circuit operators, zbadnYZNaK6VM1zanZ2dnUVZ_r7inZ2d@comcast.com What? Multi-posting? Usenet Gods forfend!
Clown: … You would know where Lord Anthonie is? I perceiue you. Shall I ſay he is in yond farme houſe? I deceiue you. Shall I tell you this wine is for him? the gods forfend, and ſo I end. Go fellow fighters theres a bob for ye.
1594, Thomas Lodge, The Wounds of Civil War, act 4, scene 1, page 54:People have long given thought to the causes of danger and how they might be forfended.
2018, Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, page 271:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| forfending | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| forfended | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| forfended | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| forfends | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (14)
cs odradit (prohibit; forbid; avert) · sv förbjuda (prohibit; forbid; avert) · nl verbieden (prohibit; forbid; avert) · bg предотвратявам (prohibit; forbid; avert) · sv avvärja (prohibit; forbid; avert) · nl bewaren (prohibit; forbid; avert) · pl uniemożliwić (prohibit; forbid; avert) · nl behoeden (prohibit; forbid; avert) · de verhindern (prohibit; forbid; avert) · pl uniemożliwiać (prohibit; forbid; avert) · de verbieten (prohibit; forbid; avert) · sv beskydda (prohibit; forbid; avert) · pl zakazywać (prohibit; forbid; avert) · pl zakazać (prohibit; forbid; avert)