forlese

English

Alternative forms

• forleese, forlore

Etymology

From Middle English forlesen, from Old English forlēosan (“to lose, abandon, let go, destroy, ruin”), equivalent to for- +‎ lese. Cognate with Scots forlore (“to lose”), Dutch verliezen (“to lose”), German verlieren (“to lose”), Swedish förlisa (“to be lost”), Swedish förlora (“to lose”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɔːˈliːz/

Verb

forlese (third-person singular simple present forleses, present participle forlesing, simple past forlore, past participle forlorn)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To lose entirely or completely.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To destroy, kill.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To abandon, forsake.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.4:

     Soone as they bene arriv'd upon the brim / Of the Rich Strond, their charets they forlore [...].

4. (transitive, obsolete) To bereave; deprive.

Usage notes

Survives in the derived participle adjective forlorn.