Forberan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to bear patiently or put up with something ; to hold oneself back from doing an action
2. A verb from Old English meaning to endure a hardship with patience ; to abstain or restrain oneself from acting
3. Old English for enduring or tolerating something without complaint ; for refraining from or abstaining from a deed

Etymology: "Forberan" is the Old English verb that gave us modern "forbear," meaning to hold back, refrain, or put up with something. It is built from the prefix "for-," which in Old English often signified abstention or renunciation, and "beran," "to bear" or "to carry." To forbear was literally to carry something away or to keep oneself from carrying it, the same logic behind the surviving "forgo" and "forbid," which share that prefix. The verb's sense of patient endurance grew out of this idea of holding back. Someone who forbears refrains from retaliating, so a person who forbears is patient with provocation. That lineage explains "forbearance," the noun for restraint or tolerance. The older verb's meaning of simply abstaining from an action survives mainly in formal or legal writing.