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*peh₂-1‘to protect, to feed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrą1‘fodder, feed, sheath’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fōdar1‘fodder, sheath’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuerre1‘fodder, straw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fourage1‘animal fodder’derivative of fuerre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forage1
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596forage1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English forage
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1595–1596, William Shakespeare, Loues Labour’s Lost: “He [the lion] from forage will incline to play.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂-Wiktionary, English forage‘to protect, to feed’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fōdrąWiktionary, English forage‘fodder, feed, sheath’reconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*fōdarWiktionary, English forage‘fodder, sheath’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fuerreWiktionary, English forage‘fodder, straw’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400fourageWiktionary, English forage‘animal fodder’derivative of fuerre
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forageWiktionary, English forage
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1595–1596forageWiktionary, English forage. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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, perpetrate, compere, pantaloons, pannier, 59 more
through Proto-Germanic *fōdrą ‘fodder, feed, sheath’
through Frankish *fōdar ‘fodder, sheath’
Today it means
noun Fodder for animals, especially cattle and horses.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “forage”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂- / forage