Etymograph

English

forgive

Forgive comes from Middle English foryiven ‘to forgive’, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną ‘to give away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰebʰ-1‘to give, move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰebʰ-e-ti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gebaną2‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fragebaną2‘to give away’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*frageban2reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150forġiefan2‘to forgive, to give’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foryiven2‘to forgive’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1768forgive2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gebaną, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English forgive
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1768, Laurence Sterne: “The brave know only how to forgive […] A…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰebʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gebaną, which cites Kroonen‘to give, move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʰebʰ-e-tiWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gebaną, which cites Kroonenreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gebanąWiktionary, English forgive‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*fragebanąWiktionary, English forgive‘to give away’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*fragebanWiktionary, English forgivereconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150forġiefanWiktionary, English forgive‘to forgive, to give’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500foryivenWiktionary, English forgive‘to forgive’
  8. Englishearliest quotation a. 1768forgiveWiktionary, English forgive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1768, Laurence Sterne: “The brave know only how to forgive […] A…”

Formed from for- + give

Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘before, in front of’

Proto-Germanic *fra- ‘off, away’

Proto-West Germanic *fra- ‘forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or…’

English for-

Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ- ‘to give’

Proto-Germanic *gebaną ‘to give’

Proto-West Germanic *geban ‘to give’

Old English ġiefan ‘to give’

Middle English yiven ‘to give’

English give

The story

Alteration (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (‘to forgive, to give’), from Proto-West Germanic *frageban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (‘to give away; give up; release; forgive’), equivalent to for- + give (etymologically for- + yive).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ- ‘to give, move’

hydrocephalus, cephalic, 17 more

through Proto-Indo-European *gʰebʰ-e-ti

gavel, 1 more

through Proto-Germanic *gebaną ‘to give’

gave, gift, 6 more

Today it means

verb To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “forgive”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *gebaną. 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 *gʰebʰ- / forgive

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