Definition of Forlarn
For*lorn" (?), a. [OE., p. p. of
forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p. p.
forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.)
to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw.
förlora, Dan. forloren, Goth. fraliusan to
lose. See For-, and Lorn, a.,
Lose, v. t.] 1.
Deserted; abandoned; lost.
Of fortune and of hope at once
forlorn. Spenser.
Some say that ravens foster forlorn
children. Shak.
2. Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight;
wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
For here forlorn and lost I tread.
Goldsmith.
The condition of the besieged in the mean time was
forlorn in the extreme. Prescott.
She cherished the forlorn hope that he was
still living. Thomson.
A forlorn hope [D. verloren hoop, prop.,
a lost band or troop; verloren, p. p. of verliezen to
lose + hoop band; akin to E. heap. See For-, and
Heap.] (Mil.), a body of men (called in F.
enfants perdus, in G. verlornen posten) selected,
usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a
fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a
desperate case or enterprise.
Syn. -- Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary;
helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable;
pitiable.
For*lorn", n. 1. A
lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
Forced to live in Scotland a
forlorn. Shak.
2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard.
[Obs.]
Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of
the enemy. Oliver Cromvell.
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
- past participle of to forlese
- forlorn being or appearing sad or lonely, especially after being abandoned
- The Nuttall Encyclopedia
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