Meanings
present singular third person forspills · participle present forspilling · participle past forspilled · past forspilled · participle past forspilt · past forspilt
- transitiveTo destroy; ruin; lose.
In fine, all these treasures, like snow on the wold, Three days lain, then to nothing forspilled, suppose.
1898, Omar Khayyam, John Payne, Villon Society, The quatrains of Omar Kheyyam of Nishapour1 more example
In questing for the talisman That ruled the wished-for treasure, The world on me, for grief of her, Was all forspilled; and 'twas not.
2011, John Payne Hafiz, The Collected Poems of Hafiz
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*furispilþijan
- Old Englishforspillan
- Middle Englishforspillen
- Englishforspill
From Middle English forspillen, from Old English forspillan, forspildan (“to waste, lose, disperse, bring to nothing, destroy, ruin, kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *furispilþijan. Equivalent to for- + spill. Cognate with Old High German farspildan, Dutch verspillen (“to waste”), Swedish förspilla (“to waste”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
forspill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forspill
“forspill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forspill. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forspill,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forspill.
Source: forspill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.