forlorn
Meaning
-
- Abandoned, deserted, left behind.
- Pitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.
- Unlikely to succeed; hopeless.
Synonyms
dark and desolate
become an orphan
miseable
destitute of refuge
Frequency
Hyphenated as
for‧lorn
Pronounced as (IPA)
/fəˈlɔːn/
Etymology
In summary
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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Notes