for-

a prefix meaning “away,” “off,” “to the uttermost,” “extremely,” “wrongly,” or imparting a negative or privative force, occurring in verbs and nouns formed from verbs of Old or Middle English origin, many of which are now obsolete or archaic: forbid; forbear; forswear; forbearance.

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“Compliment” and “complement” had a shared meaning a long time ago, but today they are no longer interchangeable.

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Origin of for-

Middle English, Old English; compare German ver-, Greek peri-, Latin per-

Words nearby for-

for the time being, for two cents, for want of a nail the kingdom was lost, for what it's worth, for whom the bell tolls, for-, for-instance, for-profit, for., fora, forage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for for-

for-

prefix

indicating rejection or prohibitionforbear; forbid

indicating falsity or wrongnessforswear

used to give intensive forceforgive; forlorn

Word Origin for for-

Old English for-; related to German ver-, Latin per-, Greek peri-

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012