Forsewen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic past participle meaning abandoned or scorned ; closed off or stitched shut completely by sewing
2. Old form describing something rejected or spurned ; something that has been fully sealed together with stitches
3. Used in older English for one who was disdained or forsaken ; also describing a thing stitched entirely closed

Etymology: "Forsewen" is the past participle of "forsew," an Old English verb built from "for-," a prefix meaning "away" or "completely," and "sew," which descends from the Old English "siwian" and the Germanic root behind it. The prefix does the interesting work here. In Old English, "forsewian" meant to sew up completely, to stitch shut, and the sense of abandonment came later, carried by the same logic: something sewn shut is closed off, cut away from use. The word's most famous appearance is in Middle English texts, where forms of "forsewen" were used of things stitched closed and of people or things shunned. Its nearest modern relative is "forsake," which shares the same "for-" prefix and a similar sense of turning away, though "forsake" comes from a different Old English verb.