forsake

Etymology

From Middle English forsaken (“to abandon, desert, repudiate, withdraw allegiance from; to deny, reject, shun; to betray; to divorce (a spouse); to disown; to be false to (one's nature, vows, etc.; to give up, renounce, surrender; to discard; to omit; to decline, refuse, reject; to avoid, escape; to cease, desist; to evade, neglect; to contradict, refute; to depart, leave; to become detached, separate”) [and other forms], from Old English forsacan (“to oppose; to give up, renounce; to decline, refuse”), from Proto-West Germanic *frasakan (“to forsake, renounce”), from Proto-Germanic *fra- (prefix meaning ‘away, off’) + *sakaną (“to charge; to dispute”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek out”)). The English word can be analysed as for- + sake, and is cognate with Saterland Frisian ferseeke (“to deny, refuse”), West Frisian fersaakje, Dutch verzaken (“to renounce, forsake”), Middle High German versachen (“to deny”), Danish forsage (“to give up”), Swedish försaka (“to be without, give up”), Norwegian forsake (“to give up, renounce”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (sakan, “to quarrel; to rebuke”), .

verb

1. (transitive) To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something).
   Thou lou'd the Church once, and didſt God adore, / But now forſakest him, thou lou'd before. 1611, Richard Brathwayte [i.e., Richard Brathwait], “The Third Sonet”, in The Golden Fleece.[…], London: […] W[illiam] S[tansby] for Christopher Purfett[…], →OCLC
   He is forſaken of the world, his kinfolk, friends, and acquaintance; his owne members and ſenſes faile him; yea, hee forſaketh (as it were) himſelfe, in that the very vſe of reaſon forſaketh him. 1617, John Moore, “Of the Miserable Life, and Wretched State of Man, by the Meanes of Sinne and Death”, in A Mappe of Mans Mortalitie.[…], […] T[homas] S[nodham] for George Edvvards,[…], →OCLC, 1st book (What Death is in It Selfe), page 44
   After having opened the flood-gates to free trade, he William Huskisson] discovered his error; but his nerve forsook him, and he could not close the gates. 29 May 1841, Richard Oastler, The Fleet Papers; Being Letters to Thomas Thornhill, Esq.[…]; from Richard Oastler,[…], volume I, number 22, London: W. J. Cleaver,[…]; and John Pavey,[…], →OCLC, page 172
   Do not forsake me, oh my darlin' / You made that promise when we wed / Do not forsake me, oh my darlin' / Although you're grievin', I can't be leavin' / Until I shoot Frank Miller dead 1952, “The Ballad of High Noon”, Ned Washington (lyrics), Dimitri Tiomkin (music), performed by Tex Ritter
   After the junction at Saincaize the line forsakes the Loire, which it has followed for many miles, for its great tributary the Allier, and runs through St. Germain-des-Fossés, the junction for St. Etienne, and Vichy to Clermont Ferrand. 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 665
   Stan: You've got to fight, Jesus. / Jesus: Why, what's the point? No one believes in me. Everyone put their money on Satan. My father forsaked me, the town forsaked me. I'm completely forsook. 4 February 1998, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dave Polsky, “Damien”, in South Park, season 1, episode 10
   But whence comes this strange feeling of duty, which goads exceptional individuals to antagonize their neighbors, forsake peace of mind and bodily comfort, jeopardize their fortunes and their lives—to risk, in short, all those advantages which the careful observance of conventional duties would place more securely in their grasp, by strengthening their position in the social order? 2007, Alexander F[rank] Skutch, “Duty”, in Moral Foundations: An Introduction to Ethics, Mount Jackson, Va.: Axios Press, page 447
   Saying he wanted to "speak directly to the people of Haiti," Mr. [Barack] Obama gave a brief address from the White House that was one of the sharpest displays of emotion of his presidency. "You will not be forsaken. You will not be forgotten," he said, and stopped to compose himself. "In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you." 14 January 2010, Helene Cooper, “Obama pledges aid to Haiti”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-12-16
2. (transitive, obsolete) To decline or refuse (something offered).
3. (transitive, obsolete) To avoid or shun (someone or something).
4. (transitive, obsolete) To cause disappointment to; to be insufficient for (someone or something).