Middle English word forbowen comes from Old English for-, Old English būgan
Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
---|---|---|
for- | Old English (ang) | Forming verbs from verbs with various senses especially ‘wrongly, away from, astray, abstention, prohibition, perversion, destruction’. Used to create intensified adjectives and verbs from other adjectives and verbs, with the sense of completely or fully. Compare Modern English use of up. Very. |
būgan | Old English (ang) | |
forbugan | Old English (ang) | To avoid, abstain. To be absent. To evade, shirk, neglect, disobey. To pass over, shun. |
forbowen | Middle English (enm) |