forethink

English

Etymology

From Middle English forethynken, from Old English fōreþenċan (“to premeditate, consider, be mindful”), corresponding to fore- +‎ think. Cognate with Dutch voordenken, German vordenken (“to think ahead”).

Verb

forethink (third-person singular simple present forethinks, present participle forethinking, simple past and past participle forethought)

1. (transitive, rare) To plan (something) in advance; think, consider, or contrive beforehand; prognosticate.
   • 1612–1634, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=I to VIII), London, →OCLC:

     O vain sorceress , that could be wary to avoid the punishment of Saul ; careless to avoid the judgment of God ! Could we forethink what our sin would cost us , we durst not but be innocent

2. (transitive, rare) To think about beforehand; to anticipate.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     […] and the soul of every man / Prophetically doth forethink thy fall.

   • 1635, John Donne, Song:

     Let not thy divining heart / Forethinke me any ill [...].

Derived terms

• forethinker