Forthgan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to go forward, advance, or set out on a course of action
2. Old English term for proceeding onward or departing from one place to head toward another
3. Archaic verb from Old English signifying to move ahead, advance, or depart on a journey

Etymology: Forthgan is an Old English verb meaning "to go forth," "to proceed," or "to advance," built from "forð" ("forth," from the same root as "fore" and "further") and "gān" ("to go"). It is the ancestor of the modern verb "forgo" in a roundabout way, and the sense is preserved in Old English prose and poetry, where it was used of people setting out on journeys and of events unfolding. The surprising part is that English kept a cousin of this verb but changed its meaning. Forthgan's descendant in Middle English took the form "forgon," and it came to mean "to abandon" or "to do without," because going forth from something means leaving it behind. The modern "forgo" retains that sense of giving up or doing without, while the original idea of moving onward has largely disappeared from the everyday word.