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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

forsooth en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • /fɔɹˈsuθ/ (General-American)
  • /fɚ-/ (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • fôr-sōōth′ (General-American)

Etymology

From Middle English forsothe, forsoþe, for sothe, from Old English for sōþ (“truly, for certain, forsooth”), equivalent to for (“for, by”) + sooth (“truth”).

Meanings

  1. (archaic, not-comparable, poetic) Used as an intensifier, often ironic: indeed, really, truthfully.
    • [F]or certes, ſayes he, / I haue already choſen my officer, and what was he? / Forſooth, a great Arithmeticion, [...] c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 1:
    • ‘Saint forsooth!’ said ill-natured Mrs. Brady. 1844 January–December, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, “My Pedigree and Family.—Undergo the Influence of the Tender Passion.”, in “The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. [The Luck of Barry Lyndon.]”, in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, volume III, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1856, →OCLC:
    • Near-synonyms: true that, facts
    • A fit man, forsooth, to governe a realme! a. 1628 (date written), John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press, and J. Lichfield at Oxford?] for Iohn Partridge, […], published 1630, →OCLC:
    • Her eyes widened. She squeaked a bit. "Don't tell me she caught you bending again?" "Bending is right. I was half-way under the dressing-table. You and your singing," I said, and I'm not sure I didn't add the word "Forsooth!" Her eyes widened a bit further, and she squeaked another squeak. 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter VIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
    • The four boys pumped up their hate to hissing steam. Harmless, quotha. Innocent, forsooth. 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 596:

Relateds

soothsayer

Synonyms

true that · indeed · not gonna lie · simply · wis · forsooth · fact is · above a bit · literally · certainly · actually · tbh · as a matter of fact · come to think of it · TBH · truly · in point of fact · in fact · de facto · definitely · truthfully · surely · to tell the truth · facts · undoubtedly · to be frank · by right · legitimately · to be honest · right · de jure · all things considered · in all honesty · soothfast · very much · verily · really · indubitably · properly · soothly · frankly · in reality · in truth · to tell the truth · in actuality · in faith · in truth · honestly · in point of fact

Translations (21)

io certe (indeed, truthfully, really) · it seriamente (indeed, truthfully, really) · cs vskutku (indeed, truthfully, really) · cs namouduši (indeed, truthfully, really) · de fürwahr (indeed, truthfully, really) · tr hakikaten (indeed, truthfully, really) · it in verità (indeed, truthfully, really) · bg наистина (indeed, truthfully, really) · pl zaiste (indeed, truthfully, really) · es veramente (indeed, truthfully, really) · es de vero (indeed, truthfully, really) · io ya (indeed, truthfully, really) · da sandelig (indeed, truthfully, really) · io vere (indeed, truthfully, really) · es en verdad (indeed, truthfully, really) · ru поистине (indeed, truthfully, really) · sv minsann (indeed, truthfully, really) · nb sannelig (indeed, truthfully, really) · it davvero (indeed, truthfully, really) · nl voorwaar waarlijk (indeed, truthfully, really) · cs věru (indeed, truthfully, really)