Forleten

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning to leave someone or something behind and abandon it ; to stop an action or give up a practice
2. An old word for deserting or forsaking a person or thing ; an old word for ceasing or giving up an activity
3. Middle English verb for abandoning or deserting a companion or object ; for quitting or discontinuing a course of action

Etymology: "Forleten" comes from Old English "forlǣtan," built from "for-," meaning "away" or "utterly," and "lǣtan," "to let, allow, leave." The root verb covered both "allow" and "leave behind," so modern "let" in "let me go" and the older sense "let go of" are the same word's two faces. "Forleten" carries the second sense: to abandon, give up, or leave someone or something behind. It survived in Middle English, where the past participle form "forleten" appears in texts meaning "abandoned" or "given up." The verb then dropped out of ordinary use. Its look-alike "forlorn" is a different word: it descends from the past participle of "forlēosan," "to lose," so it is not a surviving form of "forleten."

Synonyms: abandon, forsake, relinquish, forgo, leave

Antonyms: keep, retain, hold