Etymology

forburn

F4O1R1B3U1R1N1

Today it means: To destroy or damage by burning. Full definition →

Middle English forburnen ← Old English forbirnan
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromforbirnan
  2. Middle English · inherited fromforburnen
  3. English todayforburn

From Middle English forburnen, forbrinnen, from Old English forbirnan (intransitive) and forbærnan (transitive), equivalent to for- + burn. Cognate with Saterland Frisian ferbaadenje, ferbaanje (“to burn up”), West Frisian ferbarne (“to burn up”), German Low German verbrannen (“to burn up”), German verbrennen (“to burn up, incinerate”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.