Forsayen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic past participle describing something that has been abandoned, given up or renounced entirely
2. An old form of the past participle used for a person or thing that has been forsaken or rejected
3. Obsolete participle meaning deserted, abandoned or formally disowned by someone who once held it dear

Etymology: "Forsayen" is the past participle of "forsay," an Old English and Middle English verb that once meant "to forswear" or "to renounce by oath," and it survives in English almost entirely in this one archaic form. The root is "say" in its old sense of "to speak," with the prefix "for-" carrying the force of "against" or "away," so the verb literally meant to speak against something, to deny it or disown it. Its Old English relative "forsecgan" was used in the same sense of solemnly renouncing or forbidding. The participle "forsayen" appears in Middle English texts, including Chaucer's, where it often describes someone who has been cast off or banished from a place or company, or who has abjured a vow. Over the centuries the verb faded from ordinary speech, and the participle lingered mainly in poetic and literary usage, so modern readers encounter it chiefly in older books and in Chaucer's works.

Synonyms: forsworn, renounced, abjured, disavowed, denied

Antonyms: affirmed, avowed, professed