Etymology

fortear

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Today it means: To tear up; tear to pieces. Full definition →

Middle English forteren ← Old English *forteran ← Proto-West Germanic *frateran
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*frateran“to tear up”
  2. Old English · inherited from*forteran
  3. Middle English · inherited fromforteren
  4. English todayfortear

From Middle English forteren, possibly from Old English *forteran, from Proto-West Germanic *frateran (“to tear up”). By surface analysis, for- (“up, completely”) + tear. Cognate with Dutch verteren (“to devour”), German Low German vertehren (“to consume”), German verzehren (“to consume”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.