forset

English

Alternative forms

• forsett (Scotland)
• fooarset, foorset, fwoorset (Cumbria)

Etymology

From Middle English forsetten, from Old English forsettan (“to hedge in, obstruct, oppress”), equivalent to for- +‎ set. Cognate with Dutch verzetten (“to move”), German versetzen (“to put, move, transfer, transpose”), Swedish försätta (“to go on, remove, set”).

Verb

forset (third-person singular simple present forsets, present participle forsetting, simple past and past participle forset)

1. (transitive, dialectal, Cumbria, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Lincolnshire) To get in front of; intercept; waylay; entrap.
2. (transitive, dialectal, figuratively, Cumbria, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Lincolnshire) To upset; hinder.
3. (transitive, dialectal, Cumbria, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Lincolnshire) To beset; surround; invest; surround with difficulties; bar; impede.

   backset and forset

4. (transitive, dialectal, chiefly Scotland) To overpower; give one too much of anything; surfeit.
5. (transitive, dialectal, chiefly Scotland, by extension) To overburden or overpower with work; overwork; overtax.

Noun

forset (plural forsets)

1. (transitive, dialectal) A stratagem.

References

• Wright, Joseph (1900) The English Dialect Dictionary‎^[1], volume 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 468

Anagrams

• Forest, Forets, Fortes, Foster, fetors, forest, fortes, fortés, foster, froste, softer