Forthgang

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for the act of going forth or moving onward along a course or path
2. Old-fashioned word for a journey forward, or the progress one makes while advancing onward
3. A literary noun describing the process of proceeding ahead, moving steadily out and onward

Etymology: Old English speakers built "forthgang" from two plain parts: "forth," meaning forward or onward, and "gang," a going or course, from the verb "gan" (to go). Together they meant a going forward, an advance or progress, and the word could also describe a departure from a place. In Middle English it had a wider range of senses, including a passage or an outward movement. Its closest living relative is the German "Fortgang," which still means progress or continuation. English let the noun fall out of ordinary use by the early modern period, and it now survives mainly in dictionaries and in historical writing that imitates older English. Its modern parts remain easy to read, which is why the compound is more transparent than many of its Germanic cousins.