Etymologically
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forget

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /fəˈɡet/, US /fɚˈɡet/, /fɔːr-/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English foryeten, also forgeten,[2][3][4] inherited from Old English forgietan (“to lose the power of recalling; to neglect”),[2][5][6] from West Germanic,[6][7] formed from for- (“away, amiss”), probably with privative force, and -ġietan (“to grasp”),[2][3][8] the source of get.[2][4] It is thus “to un-get”, to lose from the mind.[2] It is a common Germanic formation: compare Old Saxon fargetan, Dutch vergeten and German vergessen.[2][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English forgytan: about 725.[3] The OED's first quotation, “to lose remembrance of”, is from about 888.[9]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the physical sense, “to lose one's grip on”, is not recorded in any Germanic language.[2] “To omit through inadvertence, neglect” is from about 950,[9] and “to cease to think of, take no notice of” from about 1000.[9] “To leave something behind inadvertently” is from before 1300,[9] and the figurative “to lose care for” from the late 13th century.[2] Forgive and forget was proverbial from before 1225.[9] “To omit to mention” is from 1538.[9] The noun, a lapse of memory, is a colloquial use from 1861.[9][6]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – forgytan.[3]
  • c. 888 – to cease to remember.[9]
  • c. 950 – to neglect.[9]
  • before 1225 – with forgive.[9]
  • before 1300 – to leave behind.[9]
  • 1538 – to omit to mention.[9]
  • 1861 – noun, a lapse of memory.[9]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To be unable to remember.
  2. To fail to do something through inattention; to neglect.
  3. To leave behind unintentionally.
  4. To fail to mention.
  5. To put out of one's mind deliberately.

Word family

  • forgetter
  • forgettable
  • forget-me-not
  • forgetful
  • forgettery
  • unforgettable
  • get
  • beget
  • forgotten

Usage notes

The past participle is forgotten, while forgot is now American, archaic or poetic.[6][8]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press