forsooth
Americanadverb
adverb
Etymology
Origin of forsooth
before 900; Middle English forsothe, Old English forsōth. See for, sooth
Explanation
If you want to say "indeed" in a particularly witty, old-fashioned way, use the adverb forsooth. Sprinkle this word into your speech, and forsooth, your friends may think you sound Shakespearean: “Yes, forsooth mother, I shall walk the dog around the block.” Forsooth is an archaic adverb, mainly used in humorous contexts or on National Talk Like Shakespeare Day. Some etymologists believe it's a shortened form of “for in truth.”
Vocabulary lists containing forsooth
Much Ado About Nothing
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King Lear
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My friend recognized that a live football broadcast is, forsooth, a work of art—possibly the most widely beloved American art form that is never celebrated as such.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2015
There is no more to say, Because you'll never agree That anything’s truth, But what issues, forsooth, From Holmes or the brain of McGee.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Sir Aubrey Wentworth, forsooth," he cried, "and not a word in writing to prove your right!
From A Lad of Grit A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea in Restoration Times by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
"Surely," said he, "the people are not unreasonable, like this man, who is ungrateful to the gods for taking his daughter, as if, forsooth, his child were better than the children of his neighbors."
From The War Tiger Or, Adventures and Wonderful Fortunes of the Young Sea Chief and His Lad Chow: A Tale of the Conquest of China by William Dalton
He carries his crook like a royal sceptre, forsooth.
From The Little Colonel at Boarding-School by Annie F. (Annie Fellows) Johnston
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
