Etymology

forshape

F4O1R1S1H4A1P3E1

Today it means: To metamorphose; change the shape of; transform. Full definition →

Middle English forshapen ← Old English forsċieppan ← Proto-West Germanic *fraskappjan
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*fraskappjan
  2. Old English · inherited fromforsċieppan
  3. Middle English · inherited fromforshapen
  4. English todayforshape

From Middle English forshapen, forschapen (“to transform”), from Old English forsċieppan, forsċeppan (“to transform”), from Proto-West Germanic *fraskappjan, equivalent to for- + shape. Cognate with German verschaffen (“to provide, supply, furnish”), Swedish förskapa (“to cut out”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.