forgo

See also: forgó

English

Alternative forms

• forego (proscribed)

Etymology

From Middle English forgon (“to go by, pass up”), from Old English forgān (“to go away, forgo”); equivalent to for- +‎ go.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔːˈɡəʊ/
• IPA^(key): /fɔɹˈɡoʊ/

Verb

forgo (third-person singular simple present forgoes, present participle forgoing, simple past forwent, past participle forgone) (transitive)

1. To let pass, to leave alone, to let go.
2. To do without, to abandon, to renounce.
   • 1986, New York Magazine (volume 19, number 49, page 20)

     You might think that Americans buy roughly the same number of fitted sheets as flats. Or, considering the market for electric blankets, duvets, and other covers, that consumers buy even more bottom sheets, simply forgoing the tops.

3. To refrain from, to abstain from, to pass up, to withgo.

   I wouldn't forgo something, unless I'm convinced that it's detrimental in some way or another.

Quotations

• 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 13:

  […] Doe not for one repulſe forgoe the purpoſe / That you resolu'd t' effect.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with forego (“go before”), though forego (“do without”) is also sometimes used as an alternative spelling of forgo.

Translations

to let pass

• Bulgarian: отказвам се (otkazvam se), изоставям (bg) (izostavjam)
• German: auslassen (de), unterlassen (de)
• Occitan: renonciar, daissar (oc)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Slovene: odpovedati se čemu
• Spanish: pasar por alto

to do without

• Bulgarian: минавам без (minavam bez)
• Danish: undvære
• French: se passer de (fr), renoncer (fr) à
• German: verzichten (auf), entsagen (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Occitan: abandonar (oc), deissar, renonciar
• Russian: отка́зываться (ru) (otkázyvatʹsja), возде́рживаться (ru) (vozdérživatʹsja)
• Spanish: dejar de lado
• Swedish: avstå från

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: laten voorbijgaan, passen (nl)
• Finnish: luopua, olla ilman, pidättäytyä
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: memasrahkan
• Japanese: 諦める (ja) (あきらめる, akirameru)

References

• “forgo”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “forgo”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• go for