forn

English

Etymology

From Middle English forn, from Old English foran (“before, in front, forward, to the front”). More at fore.

Adverb

forn (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Fore, before; in front of; forward; previously.
   • 1598-1602, , The Parnassus plays

     Stories of love, where forne the wondring bench, / The lisping gallant might injoy his wench.

Anagrams

• Fron, Norf.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin furnus, from Proto-Italic *fornos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰr̥-nós, from *gʷʰer- (“warm, hot”). Compare Occitan forn or horn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencian)

• Audio (Valencian)

  (file)

Noun

forn m (plural forns)

1. oven
2. bakery

   Synonyms: fleca, forn de pa

Derived terms

Related terms

• fornell
• forner

Further reading

• “forn” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “forn”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “forn” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “forn” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cornish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin furnus. Cognate with Welsh ffwrn (“oven”).

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key):
• (Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key):

Noun

forn f (plural fornow)

1. oven

   Yma pysk y'n forn.

   There’s a fish in the oven.

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrtn/

  Rhymes: -ɔrtn

Adjective

forn (comparative fornari, superlative fornastur)

1. old, ancient

Declension

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic فُرْن (furn), from Aramaic פורנא / ܦܘܪܢܐ (pūrnā), from Ancient Greek φοῦρνος (phoûrnos), from Latin furnus. There is no reason to doubt the inheritance of the word in Maltese and consider it a borrowing from an Italo-Romance cognate such as Italian forno. The Arabic word is attested early, the outcome forn is expected in Maltese, and so is the plural fran from Arabic أَفْران (ʔafrān). Only the derivative furnar (“baker”) is, of course, a borrowing (widely replacing native ħabbież).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrn/

Noun

forn m (plural fran, diminutive frajjen)

1. oven

Related terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Adjective

forn (neuter fornt, definite singular and plural forne, comparative fornare, indefinite superlative fornast, definite superlative fornaste)

1. old, ancient

References

• “forn” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin furnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuɾn/

• (file)

Noun

forn m (plural forns)

1. oven

Dialectal variants

• horn (Gascon)

Derived terms

• enfornar
• fornairon
• fornariá
• fornejar
• fornatge
• fornèl
• fornelar
• fornial
• fornièr
• fornassa
• fornada

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *forn, *furn, from Proto-Germanic *furnaz, variant of *fernaz.

Alternative forms

• fōrn

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /forn/,

Adjective

forn

1. old, longstanding, time-honoured

Adverb

forn

1. before, in front of, opposite, across from
   • Ġesæt Benedictus forn onġēan ðam ― Sat Benedict opposite to them (Homl. Th. ii. 168, 15)
   • Oþðæt he eft cume hyre forne ġēan ― until he again comes opposite to it (Bd. de nat. rerum; Wrt. popl. science 8, 13; Lchdm. iii. 248, 17)

Related terms

• forne
• foran
• fyrn

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *forhnu, from Proto-Germanic *furhnō (“trout”).

Alternative forms

• fōrn

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /forn/,

Noun

forn f

1. trout

Usage notes

• The precise gender of the word is unknown. It is generally regarded as a feminine ō-stem due to cognates in related Germanic languages.

Old Gutnish

Etymology

Cognate with Old Norse forn.

Adjective

forn

1. old, ancient

Derived terms

• fyrnska (“ancientry, ancient (heathen) practices”)

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fernaz (“foregoing, previous; recent”), from Proto-Indo-European *perHm-, *perH- (“fore, first”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forth, over, across, through”). Cognate with Old English firn, fyrn-, Old Frisian fīr, fēr, Old Saxon fern, Old High German firni, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis).

Adjective

forn (comparative fornari, superlative fornastr)

1. old, ancient

Declension

Descendants

• Icelandic: forn
• Faroese: fornur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: forn
• Norwegian: (dialectal) fonn, fodn
• Norwegian Bokmål: forn
• Old Swedish: forn
  • Swedish: forn
• Danish: forne

References

• “forn”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin furnus. Gallo-Romance cognate with Old French forn.

Noun

forn m (oblique plural forns, nominative singular forns, nominative plural forn)

1. oven (device for baking, cooking, etc.)

Descendants

• Occitan: forn

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “furnus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 3: D–F, page 902

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Adjective

forn

1. ancient, very old

Declension

Descendants

• Swedish: forn

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish forn, from Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz (“foregoing, previous; recent”), from Proto-Indo-European *perǝm-, *perǝ- (“fore, first”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forth, over, across, through”).

Adjective

forn

1. belonging to the (ancient) past

   Det forna Jugoslavien ― The former Yugoslavia

Usage notes

Rare in other forms than forna or forne, or as part of compounds.

Declension

Derived terms

• fornforskare
• fornforskning
• forngermansk
• forngrekisk
• fornminne
• fornnordisk
• fornnordiska (“Old Norse”)
• fornsvensk
• forntid
• forntida

References

• forn in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• forn in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• forn in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)