for to

conjunction

Expressing purpose: in order to.

Meanings

conjunction
  1. Elaboration of to.
    1. obsolete outside dialect or poetic useExpressing purpose: in order to.

      What went ye out for to see?

      1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 7:25
      3 more examples

      Farewell! Farewell! / Farewell, my fairy fay! / Oh, I'm off to Louisiana / For to see my Susy Anna, / Singing, "Polly-wolly-doodle" all the day!

      c. 1843, “Polly-Wolly-Doodl[e]”, in Hoyt Parmelee et al., compilers, A Collection of Songs and Ballads as Sung by Alpha Kappa Phi and Germanæ Sodales Societies, of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, Hillsdale, Mich.: Leader Steam Print, published 1885, →OCLC, page 11

      “Mr. Woilde, we ‘ave come for tew take yew Where felons and criminals dwell: We must ask yew tew leave with us quoietly^([sic]) For this is the Cadogan Hotel.”

      1937, John Betjeman, The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel

      All that I need for to be satisfied is a woman who's nothing like me

      2004, Jackie Greene, “Honey I Been Thinking About You”, in Sweet Somewhere Bound
    2. obsolete outside dialect or poetic useAs a general infinitive marker.

      It does me good fur to look at you, Pip.

      1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter I, in Great Expectations […], volume III, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 10
      1 more example

      In the desert you can remember your name, / 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

      1971, Dewey Bunnell, “A Horse with No Name”, performed by America

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Middle Englishfor to
  2. Englishfor to

From Middle English for to, equivalent to for + to. Compare Scots for tae, Danish for at, Norwegian for å, Swedish för att.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

for to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20to

MLA

“for to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20to. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20to.

Source: for to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.