forfend

English

Etymology

From Middle English forfenden (“to ward off, protect, prohibit”), equivalent to for- +‎ fend.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fɔːˈfɛnd/, /fə-/
(General American) IPA^(key): /fɔɹˈfɛnd/
Rhymes: -ɛnd
Hyphenation: for‧fend
Audio (US) (file)

Verb

forfend (third-person singular simple present forfends, present participle forfending, simple past and past participle forfended)

(archaic) To prohibit; to forbid; to avert.
- 1594, Thomas Lodge, The Wounds of Civil War, act 4, scene 1, page 54:
  Clown: … You would know where Lord Anthonie is? I perceiue you. Shall I ſay he is in yond farme houſe? I deceiue you. Shall I tell you this wine is for him? the gods forfend, and ſo I end. Go fellow fighters theres a bob for ye.
- 2008, Lew, short circuit operators, zbadnYZNaK6VM1zanZ2dnUVZ_r7inZ2d@comcast.com
  What? Multi-posting? Usenet Gods forfend!
- 2018, Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, page 271:
  People have long given thought to the causes of danger and how they might be forfended.

Usage notes

Common usage of this word is predominantly confined to set expressions such as heaven forfend.

Derived terms

God forfend

Translations

prohibit; forbid; avert

Bulgarian: предотвратявам (bg) (predotvratjavam)
Dutch: bewaren (nl), verbieden (nl), behoeden (nl)
German: verbieten (de), verhindern (de)
Swedish: förbjuda (sv), avvärja (sv), beskydda (sv)

Anagrams

nroffed