forne

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*per-“next, of, out, through”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*furnaz
3. Old English · inherited fromfyrn“former, ancient”
4. Middle English · inherited fromferne“old, long ago, distant, past”
5. English todayforne

From Middle English, variation of Middle English ferne (“old, long ago, distant, past”), from Old English fyrn (“former, ancient”), from Proto-Germanic *furnaz, *fernaz, *firnijaz (“old, former”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“next, of, out, through”). More at fern.

Words from the same roots