English
forestallment
Forestallment comes from Middle English forstallement.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forstallement
- Englishearliest quotation 1853forestallment
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forstallement
- Englishearliest quotation 1853forestallment
Earliest quotation: 1853, Boston: “One of the most important objects of our Schools,…”
Formed from forestall + -ment
Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- ‘to stand’
Proto-Germanic *stallaz ‘standing, position, stall, stable’
Old English steall ‘position, location’
Old English foresteall ‘intervention, hindrance of justice, ambush’
Middle English forestallen ‘to forestall, intercept, ambush, way-lay’
English forestall
Every English word from Middle English forstallement
Today it means
noun The act or process of forestalling; a delay; hindrance; prevention; aversion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English forstallement / forestallment