Forgrowan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To spread over a surface so thickly that it becomes covered, as plants do when they take over a place
2. To grow over something until it is hidden beneath a dense mass of vegetation or other growth
3. Describing vegetation that has expanded across an area, covering it and choking out whatever lies beneath

Etymology: Forgrowan is an Old English verb, built from the prefix "for-" and "growan," meaning "to grow." The prefix "for-" carried a sense of destruction, excess, or completeness, as in "forgo" or "forlorn," so the compound meant something like "to grow over and destroy" or "to overgrow until gone." Its meaning here is the same as the modern sense: a thing is so thickly covered by growth that it disappears from view. Old English prose and glosses use the word in its literal botanical sense, describing plants that choke fields, paths, or buildings. Because it is a native Germanic formation built from familiar parts, it needed no borrowing from Latin or French. Its origin is transparent, and no separate foreign source is involved.