forswallow

F4O1R1S1W4A1L1L1O1W4

verb

To swallow up; devour utterly; engulf.

OriginMiddle English forswolewen ← Old English forswelgan ← Proto-Germanic *farswelganą →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verbforswallow (third-person singular simple present forswallows, present participle forswallowing, simple past and past participle forswallowed)

present singular third person forswallows · participle present forswallowing · participle past forswallowed · past forswallowed

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo swallow up; devour utterly; engulf.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*fra-
  2. Proto-Germanic*farswelganą
  3. Old Englishforswelgan
  4. Middle Englishforswolewen
  5. Englishforswallow

From Middle English forswolewen, forswoluwen, forswolȝen, forswalȝen, forswelȝen, from Old English forswelgan, forswilgan (“to swallow up, devour, consume, absorb”), from Proto-Germanic *farswelganą, *fraswelganą (“to devour”), from Proto-Germanic *fra- + *swelganą (“to swallow”), equivalent to for- + swallow. Cognate with Dutch verzwelgen (“to engulf, swallow up”), Middle Low German vorswelgen (“to swallow up”), Middle High German verswelgen (“to swallow up”). More at for-, swallow.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

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Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“forswallow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forswallow. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forswallow,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forswallow.

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