Where does “forage” come from?

Forage comes from Middle English forage, from Old French fourage, blending Old French fōdar from Frankish and the suffix -age.

forage (English): Fodder for animals, especially cattle and horses;...

Definitions

  1. Fodder for animals, especially cattle and horses;...

Ancestry of “forage”, step by step

forage traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French fourrage

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfourrageforage, fodder
2Middle Frenchfouragefood; nourishment
3Old Frenchfourageanimal fodder; food; nourishment
4Old Frenchfuerrehay
5Frankishfōdarfodder, sheath
6Proto-Germanicfōdrąfodder; sheath
7Proto-Germanicfōdôfood, nourishment
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpat-to feed; path; to go

via Middle English forage

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishforageforage especially dry

Words derived from “forage”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pat- →Every word from Proto-Germanic fōdô →Every word from Proto-Germanic fōdrą →