Forthgo

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To go forth or proceed forward in movement or action
2. To move forward from one place to another
3. To advance ahead in space or through a course of action

Etymology: "Forthgo" is an archaic English verb built from two very old parts: "forth," meaning "forward," and "go." Its ancestor in Old English, "forþgān," already carried a wide range of senses, including "to go forth," "to proceed," "to pass by," and even "to precede" or "to succeed," so the idea of moving onward has been there from the start. Middle English carried it forward as "forthgon" and "forthgan." The word's neighbours in other Germanic languages show the same pattern. Dutch "voortgaan" means "to continue" or "go ahead," German "fortgehen" leans toward "to go away" or "depart," and Swedish "fortgå" means "to continue" or "go on." English kept the forward-moving sense while the German cousin shifted toward leaving, a neat example of two branches of one family drifting in different directions from the same starting point.