English
foresay
Foresay comes from Old English foreseċġan ‘to foresay, foretell, predict, announce,…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *furaisagjaną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furaisagjaną‘to say beforehand’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150foreseċġan‘to foresay, foretell, predict, announce, mention beforehand’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foresayen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611foresay
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furaisagjaną‘to say beforehand’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150foreseċġan‘to foresay, foretell, predict, announce, mention beforehand’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foresayen
- Englishearliest quotation 1611foresay
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Tragedie of Cymbeline: “Let ordinance / Come as the gods foresay it.”
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-Germanic *sagjaną ‘to say’
Proto-West Germanic *saggjan ‘to say’
Old English seċġan ‘to say, speak’
Middle English saien
English say
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *furaisagjaną
Today it means
verb To say beforehand; predict; foretell.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *furaisagjaną / foresay