Etymology

foreclose

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Today it means: To repossess a mortgaged property whose owner has failed to make the necessary payments; used with on. Full definition →

Middle English foreclosen ← Old French forclos ← Old English forclȳsan
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromforclȳsan“to close up”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromforclusen“to close up”
  3. Old French · derived fromforclos
  4. Middle English · inherited fromforeclosen
  5. English todayforeclose

Partially from Middle English foreclosen, forclosen, from Old French forclos, past participle of forclore (“to exclude”), from for- (“(prefix used to express error, exclusion, or inadequacy)”) + clore (“to shut”), and partially from Middle English forclusen (“to close up”), from Old English forclȳsan (“to close up”), equivalent to fore- + close.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.