Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FOR'FEIT, n. [for'fit; Fr. forfaire; W. forfed; Low L. forisfactura. Originally, and still in French, a trespass, transgression, or crime. But with us, the effect of some transgression or offense.]

1. That which is forfeited or lost, or the right to which is alienated by a crime, offense, neglect of duty, or breach of contract; hence, a fine; a mulct; a penalty. He that murders pays the forfeit of his life. When a statute creates a penalty for a transgression, either in money or in corporal punishment, the offender who, on conviction, pays the money or suffers the punishment, pays the forfeit.
2. One whose life is forfeited. [Not used.] Shak.

FOR'FEIT, v.t. [for'fit; Fr. forfaire, forfait; Low L. forisfacere, from L. foris, out or abroad, and facio, to make; Norm. forface, forfeit, and forfist, forfeited.]

To lose or render confiscable, by some fault, offense or crime; to lose the right to some species of property or that which belongs to one; to alienate the right to possess by some neglect or crime; as, to forfeit an estate by a breach of the condition of tenure or by treason. By the ancient laws of England, a man forfeited his estate by neglecting or refusing to fulfill the conditions on which it was granted to him, or by a breach of fealty. A man now forfeits his estate by committing treason. A man forfeits his honor or reputation by a breach of promise, and by any criminal or disgraceful act. Statutes declare that by certain acts a man shall forfeit a certain sum of money. Under the feudal system, the right to the land forfeited, vested in the lord or superior. In modern times, the right to things forfeited is generally regulated by statutes; it is vested in the state, in corporations, or in prosecutors or informers, or partly in the state or a corporation, and partly in an individual. The duelist, to secure the reputation of bravery, forfeits the esteem of good men, and the favor of heaven.

FOR'FEIT-A-BLE, a.

Liable to be forfeited; subject to forfeiture. For the future, uses shall be subject to the statutes of mortmain, and forfeitable like the lands themselves. Blackstone.

FOR'FEIT-ED, pp.

Lost or alienated by an offense, crime or breach of condition.

FOR'FEIT-ING, ppr.

Alienating or losing, as a right, by an offense, crime or breach of condition.

FOR'FEIT-URE, n.

1. The act of forfeiting; the losing of some right, privilege, estate, honor, office or effects, by an offense, crime, breach of condition or other act. In regard to property, forfeiture is a loss of the right to possess, but not generally the actual possession, which is to be transferred by some subsequent process. In the feudal system, a forfeiture of lands gave him in reversion or remainder a right to enter.
2. That which is forfeited; an estate forfeited; a fine or mulct. The prince enriched his treasury by fines and forfeitures.

FOR'FEX, n. [L.]

A pair of scissors. Pope.

FOR-GAVE, v. [pret. of forgive, – which see.]

FORGE, n. [Fr. forge; Sp. Port. forja; probably from L. ferrum, iron; It. ferriera, a forge; Port. ferragem, ironwork.]

1. A furnace in which iron or other metal is heated and hammered into form. A larger forge is called with us ironworks. Smaller forges, consisting of a bellows so placed as to cast a stream of air upon ignited coals, are of various forms and uses. Armies have traveling forges for repairing gun-carriages, &c.
2. Any place where any thing is made or shaped. Hooker.
3. The act of beating or working iron or steel; the manufacture of metalline bodies. In the greater bodies the forge was easy. Bacon.

FORGE, v.t.

1. To form by heating and hammering; to beat into any particular shape, as a metal.
2. To make by any means. Names that the schools forged, and put into the mouths of scholars. Locke.
3. To make falsely; to falsify; to counterfeit; to make in the likeness of something else; as, to forge coin; to forge a bill of exchange or a receipt.

FORG-ED, pp.

Hammered; beaten into shape; made; counterfeited.

FORG-ER, n.

1. One that makes or forms.
2. One who counterfeits; a falsifier.

FORG-ER-Y, n.

1. The act of forging or working metal into shape. In this sense rarely or never now used.
2. The act of falsifying; the crime of counterfeiting; as, the forgery of coin, or of bank notes, or of a bond. Forgery may consist in counterfeiting a writing, or in setting a false name to it, to the prejudice of another person.
3. That which is forged or counterfeited. Certain letters, purporting to be written by General Washington, during the revolution, were forgeries.

FOR-GET', v.t. [pret. forgot. (forgat, obs.) pp. forgot, forgotten. Sax. forgetan, forgitan, forgytan; G. vergessen; D. vergeeten; Sw. förgäta; Dan. forgietter; for and get.]

1. To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps. ciii.
2. To slight; to neglect. Can a woman forget her sucking child? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Is. xlix.

FOR-GET'FUL, a.

1. Apt to forget; easily losing the remembrance of. A forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
2. Heedless; careless; neglectful; inattentive. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. Heb. xiii.
3. Causing to forget; inducing oblivion; oblivious; as, forgetful draughts. Dryden.

FOR-GET'FUL-LY, adv.

In a forgetful manner.

FOR-GET'FUL-NESS, n.

1. The quality of losing the remembrance or recollection of a thing; or rather, the quality of being apt to let any thing slip from the mind.
2. Loss of remembrance or recollection; a ceasing to remember; oblivion. A sweet forgetfulness of human care. Pope.
3. Neglect; negligence; careless omission; inattention; as, forgetfulness of duty. Hooker.

FOR-GET'TER, n.

One that forgets; a heedless person.

FOR-GET'TING, n.

The act of forgetting; forgetfulness; inattention.

FOR-GET'TING, ppr.

Losing the remembrance of.

FOR-GET'TING-LY, adv.

By forgetting or forgetfulness. B. Jonson.

FORG'ING, ppr.

Hammering; beating into shape; counterfeiting.

FOR-GIV'A-BLE, a. [See Forgive.]

That may be pardoned. Sherwood.

FOR-GIVE, v.t. [forgiv'; pret. forgave; pp. forgiven. for and give; Sax. forgifan; Goth. fragiban; G. vergeben; D. vergeeven; Dan. forgiver; Sw. tilgifva. The sense is to give from, that is, away, as we see by the Gothic fra, from. The English for, and G. and D. ver, are the same word, or from the same root; ver, is the Eng. far. The Swedish til signifies to, and in this compound, it signifies toward or back; so in L. remitto. See Give.]

1. To pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender. But by an easy transition, we also use the phrase, to forgive the person offending. Forgive us our debts. Lord's Prayer. If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matth. vi. As savages never forget a favor, so they never forgive an injury. N. Chipman. It is to be noted that pardon, like forgive, may be followed by the name or person, and by the offense; but remit can be followed by the offense only. We forgive or pardon the man, but we do not remit him.
2. To remit as a debt, fine or penalty.

FOR-GIV'EN, pp.

Pardoned; remitted.