forge

Etymology 1

From Middle English forge, from Old French forge, early Old French faverge, from Latin fabrica (“workshop”), from faber (“workman in hard materials, smith”) (genitive fabri). Cognate with Franco-Provençal favèrge.

noun

1. A furnace or hearth where metals are heated prior to hammering them into shape.
2. A workshop in which metals are shaped by heating and hammering them.
3. The act of beating or working iron or steel.
4. (computing) A Web-based collaborative platform for developing and sharing software.
   If the project uses a forge like GitLab, GitHub, or BitBucket, it can be very easy to search all past commit logs […] 2018, V. M. Brasseur, Forge Your Future with Open Source

Etymology 2

From Middle English forgen, from Anglo-Norman forger and Old French forgier, from Latin fabrico (“to frame, construct, build”).

verb

1. (metallurgy) To shape a metal by heating and hammering.
2. To form or create with concerted effort.
   The politician's recent actions are an effort to forge a relationship with undecided voters.
   In The Last Guardian, a kidnapped boy forges an uneasy relationship with a frightening beast in order to survive. 8 May 2019, Jon Bailes, “Save yourself! The video games casting us as helpless children”, in The Guardian
3. To create a forgery of; to make a counterfeit item of; to copy or imitate unlawfully.
   He had to forge his ex-wife's signature.  The jury learned the documents had been forged.
4. To make falsely; to produce, as that which is untrue or not genuine; to fabricate.

Etymology 3

Make way, move ahead, most likely an alteration of force, but perhaps from forge (n.), via notion of steady hammering at something. Originally nautical, in reference to vessels.

verb

1. (often as forge ahead) To move forward heavily and slowly (originally as a ship); to advance gradually but steadily; to proceed towards a goal in the face of resistance or difficulty.
   The party of explorers forged through the thick underbrush.
   We decided to forge ahead with our plans even though our biggest underwriter backed out.
   And off she [a ship] forged without a shock. 1849, Thomas De Quincey, “Dream-Fugue”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine
2. (sometimes as forge ahead) To advance, move or act with an abrupt increase in speed or energy.
   With seconds left in the race, the runner forged into first place.