Etymograph

English

forseek

Forseek comes from Old English forsēcan ‘to afflict, attack’, from sēċan ‘to look for, seek’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-1‘track down, seek out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sōkijaną1‘to seek, look for’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sōkijan1‘to seek, look for’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sēċan2‘to look for, seek’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150forsēcan3‘to afflict, attack’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forseken3reconstructed
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1614forseek3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English secan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English forsecan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English forseek
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, J. Davies: “Vartue it's sed (and is an old said saw)…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*seh₂g-Wiktionary, Old English secan‘track down, seek out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sōkijanąWiktionary, Old English secan‘to seek, look for’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*sōkijanWiktionary, Old English secan‘to seek, look for’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150sēċanWiktionary, Old English forsecan‘to look for, seek’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150forsēcanWiktionary, English forseek‘to afflict, attack’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*forsekenWiktionary, English forseekreconstructed
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1614forseekWiktionary, English forseek. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1614, J. Davies: “Vartue it's sed (and is an old said saw)…”

Equivalent to for- + seek

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 *seh₂g- ‘to follow’

…

Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną ‘to seek’

Proto-West Germanic *sōkijan ‘to seek’

Old English sēċan ‘to look for’

Middle English seke

English seek

The story

From Middle English *forseken (attested in forsoȝt), from Old English forsēcan, forsēċan (‘to afflict, attack’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- ‘track down, seek out’

sake, sucker, hegemony, saya, sagittal, presage, hegemon, sagacity, 19 more

through Proto-Germanic *sōkijaną ‘to seek, look for’

soc, 3 more

through Old English sēċan ‘to look for, seek’

beseech, 2 more

Today it means

verb To seek thoroughly (for); seek out.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “forseek”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English secan, Old English forsecan. 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 *seh₂g- / forseek

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