forsteal en · VERB · etymology 1
Etymology
From Middle English forstelen, from Old English forstelan (“to steal away, steal, rob, deprive”), from Proto-Germanic *farstelaną, *frastelaną (“to steal, steal away”), equivalent to for- + steal. Cognate with Middle Low German vorstelen (“to steal away”), Middle High German ferstelan (“to steal away”).
Meanings
-
(obsolete, transitive) To steal away, rob, deprive.
Be ye not willing to hoard to you gold hoards on earth, where rust and moth fortake it, and where thieves delve it and forsteal, […]
1861, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Spoon and sparrow:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| forsteals | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| forstolen | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| forstole | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| forstealing | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |