English
forthcome
Forthcome comes from Old English forþcuman ‘to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed,…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *furþą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furþą1‘forth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forþcuman1‘to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed, come to pass, come true, be born’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forthcomen1
- Englishearliest quotation 1903forthcome1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English forthcome
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1903, Jack London: “By dropping a penny in the slot, the gas…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*furþąWiktionary, English forthcome‘forth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150forþcumanWiktionary, English forthcome‘to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed, come to pass, come true, be born’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forthcomenWiktionary, English forthcome
- Englishearliest quotation 1903forthcomeWiktionary, English forthcome. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1903, Jack London: “By dropping a penny in the slot, the gas…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to cross’
first, before, far, per, price, private, support, press, practice, further, report, fear, pre, primary, appreciate, opportunity, prior, prime, prize, pregnant, practical, transport, precious, sport, praise, port, interpretation, privilege, parade, par, ford, ferry, pirate, fare, pardon, primitive, prix, porch, interpreter, pragmatic, 155 more
through Proto-Germanic *furþą ‘forth’
Today it means
verb To come forth.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “forthcome”. 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-Germanic *furþą / forthcome