Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “forgan” come from?

forgan (Middle English) comes from Old English foregān, from Old English fore, from Proto-Germanic furai, from Proto-Indo-European preh₂-, from Proto-Indo-European per-, from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “forgan”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishforegān—
2Old Englishforebefore; forepart, front
3Proto-Germanicfuraibefore, in front of; before, in front
4Proto-Indo-Europeanpreh₂-before, in front
5Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “forgan”

  • foregoing
  • forego
  • foregone
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →