Meanings
plural foregangers
- archaicrareOne who or that which goes before; a forerunner; a harbinger; a predecessor.
- nauticalA short rope grafted on a harpoon, to which a longer line may be attached.
The foreganger is most commonly formed of white or untarred rope , which is stronger and more flexible than tarred rope , consequently more easily extended when the harpoon is thrown
1820, William Scoresby, The whale-fishery
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old English*foregangere
- Middle Englishforganger
- Englishforeganger
From Middle English forganger, forgangere, from Old English *foregangere, from foregangan (“to go before, precede, go in front of, project, excel”), equivalent to fore- + ganger. Cognate with Scots foregangare (“a foregoer”), Dutch voorganger (“a predecessor, progenitor”), German Vorgänger (“a predecessor, precursor”), Swedish föregångare (“a forerunner, precursor, progenitor”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
foreganger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreganger
“foreganger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreganger. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foreganger,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreganger.
Source: foreganger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.