forebear
/ˈfɔɹˌbɛɚ/noun
forebear is spelled F-O-R-E-B-E-A-R: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 110,368th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, forebear means “An ancestor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of forebear is forebears.
How many letters and syllables are in forebear?
| Letters | 8: F-O-R-E-B-E-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 110,368th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is forebear?
Forebear appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 110,368th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce forebear?
- UK /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/
- US /ˈfɔɹˌbɛɚ/
Forebear has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-forebear.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of forebear
- forebears plural
- forbear
- forebeer
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does forebear mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An ancestor.
[1906] 2004, Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville, Ethel Wedgwood tr. Sirs, I am quite sure that the King of England's forbears rightly and justly lost the conquered lands that I hold […]
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forebear in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense ancestor – see also ancestor:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ancêtre |
| German | Vorfahr, Ahn, Vorfahre |
| Portuguese | antepassado |
| Spanish | ancestro, antepasado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does forebear come from?
Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).