Dictionary

forworth en · VERB

Etymology

From Middle English forworthen, from Old English forweorþan (“to perish, pass away, vanish; deteriorate, sicken”), from Proto-Germanic *frawerþaną (“to perish, come to ruin”), equivalent to for- (“away, wrongly, badly”) + worth (“to turn into, become”). Cognate with Dutch verworden.

Meanings

1. (Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive, obsolete, rare) To perish, forfare; come to nought or ruin; go wrong.
2. (Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive, obsolete, rare) To degenerate (into); become (something inferior); come to.

Forms