forebear
/ˈfɔːˌbɛə/
"forebear" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“forebear” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ancestor.
Corpus desk
Index EN-forebear · forebear · English
forebear · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | forebear |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “forebear” in English
Rare enough to double-check
forebear is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɔːˌbɛə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An ancestor.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for forebear in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”). The correct English form is forebear, spelled F-O-R-E-B-E-A-R.
Definition
- 1An ancestor.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how forebear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
One day, among the days, he bethought him of this and fell lamenting for that the most part of his existence was past and he had not been vouchsafed a son, to inherit the kingdom after him, even as he had inherited it from his fathers and forebears; by reason whereof there betided him sore cark and care and chagrin exceeding.
[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 […]
Etymology
Late 15th century, from fore- + beer (“one who is or exists”, literally “be-er”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.