forworth

F4O1R1W4O1R1T1H4

verb

To perish, forfare; come to nought or ruin; go wrong.

OriginMiddle English forworthen ← Old English forweorþan ← Proto-Germanic *frawerþaną →
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Meanings

verbforworth (third-person singular simple present forworths, present participle forworthing, simple past forworthed or forword, past participle forworthed or forword or forworthen or forworden)

present singular third person forworths · participle present forworthing · past forworthed · past forword · participle past forworthed · participle past forword · participle past forworthen · participle past forworden

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandintransitiveobsoleterareTo perish, forfare; come to nought or ruin; go wrong.
  2. Northern EnglandScotlandintransitiveobsoleterareTo degenerate (into); become (something inferior); come to.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*frawerþaną“to perish, come to ruin”
  2. Old Englishforweorþan“to perish, pass away, vanish; deteriorate, sicken”
  3. Middle Englishforworthen
  4. Englishforworth

From Middle English forworthen, from Old English forweorþan (“to perish, pass away, vanish; deteriorate, sicken”), from Proto-Germanic *frawerþaną (“to perish, come to ruin”), equivalent to for- (“away, wrongly, badly”) + worth (“to turn into, become”). Cognate with Dutch verworden.

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

forthrow
Cite this entry
APA

forworth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forworth

MLA

“forworth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forworth. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forworth,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forworth.

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