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Webster 1913 Edition

Forsake

For-sake′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp.
Forsook
;
p. p.
Forsaken
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Forsaking
.]
[AS.
forsacan
to oppose, refuse;
for-
+
sacan
to contend, strive; akin to Goth.
sakan
. See
For-
, and
Sake
.]
1.
To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart or withdraw from; to leave;
as, false friends and flatterers
forsake
us in adversity
.
If his children
forsake
my law, and walk not in my judgments.
Ps. lxxxix. 30.
2.
To renounce; to reject; to refuse.
Syn. – To abandon; quit; desert; fail; relinquish; give up; renounce; reject. See
Abandon
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Forsake

FORSA'KE

,
Verb.
T.
pret. forsook; pp. forsaken. See Seek .]
1.
To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. Friends and flatterers forsake us in adversity.
Forsake the foolish, and live. Prov. 9.
2.
To abandon; to renounce; to reject.
If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments - Ps. 89.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Ps. 37.
3.
To leave; to withdraw from; to fail. In anger, the color forsakes the cheeks. In severe trials, let not fortitude forsake you.
4.
In scripture, God forsakes his people, when he withdraws his aid, or the light of his countenance.

Definition 2024

forsake

forsake

English

Verb

forsake ‎(third-person singular simple present forsakes, present participle forsaking, simple past forsook, past participle forsaken)

  1. To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce.
    • 1911: Ameen Rihani, The Book of Khalid, p.39
      There may be nothing noble in renouncing one's country, in abandoning one's home, in forsaking one's people; but is there not something remarkable in this great move one makes.

Translations

References

  • forsake in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • Notes:
  1. ↑ forsake in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *frasakaną. Compare Danish forsage, Swedish försaka, English forsake, Dutch verzaken.

Verb

forsake ‎(imperative forsak, present tense forsaker, simple past and past participle forsaka or forsaket, present participle forsakende)

  1. to give up, relinquish
  2. to denounce (the devil)

Derived terms

References

Etymology

From Middle English forsaken ‎(“to reject, deny”), from Old English forsacan ‎(“to dispute, quarrel, refuse, oppose”), from Proto-Germanic *frasakaną ‎(“to renounce”), equivalent to for- +‎ sake. Akin to West Frisian fersaakje, Dutch verzaken ‎(“to renounce; forsake”), Middle High German versachen ‎(“to deny”), Danish forsage ‎(“to give up”), Norwegian forsake ‎(“to give up, renounce”), Swedish försaka ‎(“to give up, to be without”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 ‎(sakan, “to rebuke, quarrel”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔɹˈseɪk/
  • Rhymes: -eɪk

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