foresay

F4O1R1E1S1A1Y4
/fɔː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/

verb

To say beforehand; predict; foretell.

OriginMiddle English foresayen ← Old English foreseċġan →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

verbforesay (third-person singular simple present foresays, present participle foresaying, simple past and past participle foresaid)

present singular third person foresays · participle present foresaying · participle past foresaid · past foresaid

  1. archaictransitiveTo say beforehand; predict; foretell.
  2. transitiveTo decree; ordain; appoint.

    Let ordinance / Come as the gods foresay it.

    1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
foretellordain

Origin

  1. Old Englishforeseċġan“to foresay, foretell, predict, announce, mention beforehand”
  2. Middle Englishforesayen
  3. Englishforesay

From Middle English foresayen, foreseyen, foreseggen (found only in past participle foresaid), from Old English foreseċġan (“to foresay, foretell, predict, announce, mention beforehand”), equivalent to fore- + say. Cognate with Dutch voorzeggen (“to foretell, presage”), Old Danish foresige, Swedish föresäga, förutsäga (“to predict”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

foresay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foresay

MLA

“foresay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foresay. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foresay,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foresay.

Source: foresay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.