Talk:English prefixes

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[edit] For-

Not the fore- of foreboding, but the for- of forgive, forget, forlorn, forsake(n), etc. It's a cognate with the German ver-, of that I am 99,9% certain (vergeben, vergessen, verloren, etc). But what it its meaning? I couldn't tell you what the German ver- does to its word either, other than (usually) make it into a transitive or reflexive verb. Could someone explain, and maybe add to the article if they think they know what they are talking about? 217.235.112.216 (talk · contribs)

This prefix is no longer analyzable for English speakers (although many may be able to isolate it from the base). In other words, it is no longer a prefix and forgive, forget are just single morpheme words without any internal parts. So, if the page is about English prefixes in the modern language (in a synchronic sense), then a for- prefix should not be listed. Besides what you list, forgo, forspend, forswear, forbear, forgather are other words.

But, for- was a prefix earlier before it became unproductive and unanalyzable. And if this page is supposed to include more historical information, then it could be listed under the archaic section.

In Old English, for- (originally a preposition) was attached to verbs and adjectives with meanings of (1) loss, destruction, (2) intensification, (3) perfectivity. However, in words like forbeodan (= Modern English forbid) "forbid, refuse", forgiefan (= ModE forgive) "give up, forgive", forgietan (=ModE forget) "forget", the original meanings are being lost. It is, as you mention, related to German ver-. By Middle English for- is no longer productive and has lost it prefixal meaning. It doesnt make a verb transitive or reflexive.

Marchand suggests that only in some dialects can any trace of the original meaning be found: forbear with a dialectal meaning of "endure" (it means "hold back, resist" in the standard language), and forgather "assemble" an uncommon word marked as "chiefly Scots" by Oxford English Dictionary.– ishwar  (speak) 04:06, 25 April 2008 (UTC)