Meanings
present singular third person fortears · participle present fortearing · past fortore · participle past fortorn
- transitiveTo tear up; tear to pieces.
It was as if an earthquake rent, And made fortorn The households horn Of peace on earth, [...]
1882, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The poetical works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow1 more example
A German hussar, a veteran in the wars of Germany, appeared at the door of Congress, in Philadelphia, in his uniform and on horseback, with a fortorn cap upon his head, [...]
1842, Royal Ralph Hinman, A Historical Collection from Official Records, Files, &c., of the Part Sustained by Connecticut, During the War of the Revolution: With an Appendix, Containing Important Letters, Depositions, &c., Written During the War, page 43
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*frateran“to tear up”
- Old English*forteran
- Middle Englishforteren
- Englishfortear
From Middle English forteren, possibly from Old English *forteran, from Proto-West Germanic *frateran (“to tear up”). By surface analysis, for- (“up, completely”) + tear. Cognate with Dutch verteren (“to devour”), German Low German vertehren (“to consume”), German verzehren (“to consume”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fortear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortear
“fortear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortear. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fortear,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortear.
Source: fortear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.