English
forefounder
Likely a conflation between forefather and founder, equivalent to fore- + founder.
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-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn ‘bottom’
…
Latin fundō ‘to found, establish’
Latin fundātor ‘founder’
Old French fondeur ‘founder’
Middle English foundour ‘founder’
English founder
Today it means
noun A founder; one who founds or establishes something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / forefounder