English
forage
Forage comes from Old French fourage ‘animal fodder’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to feed’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-‘to protect, to feed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrą‘fodder, feed, sheath’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fōdar‘fodder, sheath’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuerre‘fodder, straw’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400fourage‘animal fodder’derivative of fuerre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forage
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-‘to protect, to feed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrą‘fodder, feed, sheath’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fōdar‘fodder, sheath’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuerre‘fodder, straw’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400fourage‘animal fodder’derivative of fuerre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forage
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596same form
Earliest quotation: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “He [the lion] from forage will incline to play.”
The story
Unrelated to modern French forage (‘drilling’), whose first element is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (‘to pierce’).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- ‘to protect, to feed’
company, father, food, pain, feed, pattern, pope, apparent, companion, foster, papa, pastor, patron, patriot, penetration, pasture, fad, paternal, paternity, accompaniment, padre, perpetrator, ayr, panini, patrician, pater, patrimony, pav, père, perpetrate, compere, pantaloons, pannier, 60 more
through Proto-Germanic *fōdrą ‘fodder, feed, sheath’
through Frankish *fōdar ‘fodder, sheath’
Today it means
noun Fodder for animals, especially cattle and horses.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- / forage