Where does “forespeak” come from?
forespeak (English) comes from English Fore, from German Fahr, from German Fähre, from Middle High German verren, from Old High German ferrana, from Old High German ferro, from Proto-West Germanic *ferrō, from Proto-Germanic ferrai — passed , crossed.
forespeak (English): To foretell, to predict; Alternative spelling of...
Definitions
- To foretell, to predict; Alternative spelling of...
Ancestry of “forespeak”, step by step
forespeak traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English Fore
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 2 | German | Fahr | — |
| 3 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 4 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 5 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 6 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English speak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | speak | To communicate with one's voice, to say words out... |
| 2 | Middle English | speke | — |
| 3 | Old English | specan | Alternative form of sprecan; to speak |
| 4 | Old English | sprecan | to speak, talk |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *sprekan | to speak |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | sprekaną | to speak, to make a noise |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | spreg- | to make a sound, speak; to make a sound, utter,... |
via English forspeak
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | forspeak | To injure or cause bad luck through immoderate... |
| 2 | Middle English | forspeken | to bewitch |
| 3 | Old English | forsprecan | to speak against, speak ill of, denounce; to... |
| 4 | Old English | for- | wrongly, away from, astray, abstention,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fra- | off, away; completely, fully, up |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuH- | to become, grow, appear |