forlorn

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Sad and lonely, especially because of being left alone or abandoned.

   The forlorn puppy waited at the gate for an owner who never came.

2. 2
   adj

   Very unlikely to succeed; almost hopeless.

   They made one last forlorn attempt to save the failing business.

3. 3
   adj

   Abandoned or deserted; left behind.

   The forlorn cottage had stood empty for decades.

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Simplified etymology

In Old English, forlorn meant “morally corrupted,” although its core idea was “lost”; it comes from the verb forlese, “to lose.” The modern sense “pitifully sad” developed in the 16th century.

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan (“to lose”)), from Proto-Germanic *fraluzanaz (“lost”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną (“to lose”), equivalent to for- + lorn. Cognate with West Frisian ferlern (“lost”), Saterland Frisian ferlädden (“lost”), Dutch verloren (“lost”), German Low German verloren (“lost”), German verloren (“lost”), Swedish förlorad (“lost”). See further at lese/leese, lorn.

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External links

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