Etymograph

English

forne

Forne comes from Middle English ferne ‘old, long ago, distant, past’, from Old English fyrn ‘former, ancient’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘next, of, out, through’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1‘next, of, out, through’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furnaz1reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fyrn1‘former, ancient’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ferne1‘old, long ago, distant, past’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1564forne1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English forne
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Nicholas Udall: “The Camel's hous; whiche it is saied that a…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, English forne‘next, of, out, through’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furnazWiktionary, English fornereconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150fyrnWiktionary, English forne‘former, ancient’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ferneWiktionary, English forne‘old, long ago, distant, past’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1564forneWiktionary, English forne. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1564, Nicholas Udall: “The Camel's hous; whiche it is saied that a…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘next, of, out, through’

first, far, per, before, further, support, price, private, press, practice, report, fear, pre, primary, prime, opportunity, appreciate, prize, pregnant, prior, practical, transport, sport, port, precious, praise, interpretation, privilege, parade, par, afford, ferry, pirate, fare, pardon, ford, forth, primitive, prix, porch, 156 more

Today it means

adj Former.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “forne”. 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 *per- / forne

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