The story
- Old English · derived fromforesprecan“to forespeak”
- Old English · inherited fromforesprecen“spoken or mentioned before; forespoken”
- Middle English · inherited fromforsprecen
- English todayforespoken
From Middle English forsprecen, from Old English foresprecen (“spoken or mentioned before; forespoken”), past participle of Old English foresprecan (“to forespeak”), equivalent to fore- + spoken; also, as the past participle of forespeak, equivalent to forespoke + -n.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.