Forsay

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning to renounce or deny something formerly held ; to command against or prohibit an action
2. Old word for disowning or repudiating a belief or claim ; an older way of saying to ban or bar someone from doing something
3. Dated verb for rejecting or abjuring a position or practice ; a historical usage meaning to forbid or interdict a course of action

Etymology: "Forsay" is an old verb meaning to renounce or disown, and it reached English by way of Old English "forseċġan," a word meaning to accuse, accuse falsely, or slander. The prefix "for-" in such verbs often carries the sense of "away" or "against," and the "say" part is simply the ordinary verb. So at root, to forsay someone was to speak against them, which is a long way from the modern sense of denying someone or giving them up. The word's history is a story of drift. Its Old English form covered a whole range of speech acts, from accusing to merely discoursing about a subject, and the Middle English "forsayen" narrowed toward renunciation, the idea of formally disowning a person, a cause, or a belief. Its relatives elsewhere in Germanic languages show the same movement: Dutch "verzeggen" and German "versagen" both carry the sense of refusing or denying, while Swedish "försäga" has taken a different turn toward misspeaking, saying more than one should.

Synonyms: deny, renounce, forswear

Antonyms: affirm, avow, confirm