The story
- Middle English · inherited fromforner
- English todayforeigner
From Middle English forner, foreyner, foroner, forenere, augmentation of earlier forein (“foreigner”), from the adjective. Equivalent to foreign + -er. Use of the -er suffix may be due to analogy with Middle English straunger (“stranger”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.