English

forechain

From fore- + chain.

Formed from fore- + chain

Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘before, formerly’

Proto-Germanic *fura- ‘before, in front of, for’

Proto-West Germanic *forē- ‘before, in front of, fore-, pre-’

English fore-

Proto-Italic *katesnā

Latin catēna ‘chain’

Old French chaeine ‘chain’

Middle English cheyne ‘a chain’

English chain

Today it means

noun A chain securing the lower shrouds of the foremast.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / forechain