English

Adjective

foorth ‎(not comparable)

1. Eye dialect spelling of fourth.
   • 1899, Finley Peter Dunne, Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War:

     This, gintlemen iv th' foorth precin't,' he says, 'is Thomas Francis Dorgan, a man who, if ilicted,' he says, 'victhry'll perch,' he says, 'upon our banners,' he says; 'an',' he says, 'th' naytional honor will be maintained,' he says, 'in th' county boord,' he says.

   • 1907, Henry Van Dyke, Days Off:

     Even a hunter, I'm thinkin', wouldna like to be breakin' twa commandments in the ane day--the foorth and the saxth!

Adverb

foorth ‎(not comparable)

1. Obsolete spelling of forth
   • 1592, R. G., The Third And Last Part Of Conny-Catching. (1592):

     I see Coosen you knowe mee not, and I doe not greatlie blame you, it is so long since you came foorth of the Countrey, but I am such a ones sonne, naming her Uncle right, and his sonnes name, which she very well remembred, but had not seene him in eleven yeares.

   • 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Massacre at Paris:

     I my Lord, the rest have taine their standings in the next roome, therefore good my Lord goe not foorth.

Middle English

Noun

foorth (plural foorths)

1. ford

Usage notes

• Attested only in the fourteenth century.

References

• “foorth” listed as a fourteenth- of “ford, n.¹”, listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)