forfeit
- forfeit
\ \ [13] A forfeit was originally a ‘transgression’ or ‘misdemeanour’. The word comes from Old French forfet, a derivative of the verb forfaire or forsfaire ‘commit a crime’. This was a compound formed from fors- ‘beyond (what is permitted or legal)’, which is descended from Latin forīs ‘outdoor, outside’ (source of English forest and related to foreign), and faire ‘do, act’, which came from Latin facere (whence English fact, fashion, feature, etc). The etymological meaning ‘misdeed’ was originally taken over from Old French into Middle English (‘Peter was in hand nummen [taken] for forfait he had done’, Cursor mundi 1300), but by the 15th century it was being edged out by ‘penalty imposed for committing such a misdeed’.
\ \ Cf.⇒ DOOR, FACT, FACTORY, FASHION, FOREST, FOREIGN
Word origins - 2ed.
J. Ayto.
2005.
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Look at other dictionaries:
forfeit — for·feit 1 / fȯr fət/ n [Anglo French, from Middle French forfait, past participle of forfaire to commit a crime, from fors outside + faire to do]: something forfeited or subject to being forfeited forfeit 2 vt 1: to lose or lose the right to by … Law dictionary
forfeit — for‧feit [ˈfɔːft ǁ ˈfɔːr ] verb [transitive] 1. LAW to lose property or the legal right to something because you have broken the law: • The company will forfeit all its assets to the federal government. 2. to lose rights, benefits etc: • State… … Financial and business terms
Forfeit — For feit, n. [OE. forfet crime, penalty, F. forfait crime (LL. forefactum, forifactum), prop. p. p. of forfaire to forfeit, transgress, fr. LL. forifacere, prop., to act beyond; L. foris out of doors, abroad, beyond + facere to do. See {Foreign} … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Forfeit — For feit, a. [F. forfait, p. p. of forfaire. See {Forfeit}, n.] Lost or alienated for an offense or crime; liable to penal seizure. [1913 Webster] Thy wealth being forfeit to the state. Shak. [1913 Webster] To tread the forfeit paradise. Emerson … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Forfeit — For feit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Forfeited}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Forfeiting}.] [OE. forfeten. See {Forfeit}, n.] To lose, or lose the right to, by some error, fault, offense, or crime; to render one s self by misdeed liable to be deprived of; to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
forfeit — [fôr′fit] n. [ME forfet < OFr forfait, pp. of forfaire, to transgress < ML forisfacere, to do wrong, lit., to do beyond < L foris, foras, out of doors, beyond (see FOREIGN) + facere (see FACT)] 1. something that one loses or has to give… … English World dictionary
Forfeit — For feit, v. i. 1. To be guilty of a misdeed; to be criminal; to transgress. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 2. To fail to keep an obligation. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] I will have the heart of him if he forfeit. Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
forfeit — [n] something given as sacrifice cost, damages, fine, loss, mulct, penalty, relinquishment; concept 123 Ant. gain, victory, win forfeit [v] give up something in sacrifice abandon, be deprived of, be stripped of, drop, give over, lose, relinquish … New thesaurus
forfeit — ► VERB (forfeited, forfeiting) 1) lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege) as a penalty for wrongdoing. 2) lose or give up as a necessary consequence. ► NOUN 1) a fine or penalty for wrongdoing. 2) Law a forfeited right,… … English terms dictionary
Forfeit — For feit, p. p. or a. In the condition of being forfeited; subject to alienation. Shak. [1913 Webster] Once more I will renew His laps[ e]d powers, though forfeite. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Forfeit — (engl., spr. fohrfĭt), im Sport, s. Reugeld … Kleines Konversations-Lexikon
