forfend
for·fend/fɔɹˈfɛnd/obsolete
forfend is a verb meaning “To prohibit; to forbid; to avert” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled F-O-R-F-E-N-D and has 2 syllables (for·fend), and it appears about once in every 28 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does forfend mean?
verb
- 1
archaicTo prohibit; to forbid; to avert.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce forfend?
- UK /fɔːˈfɛnd/
- UK /fə-/
- US /fɔɹˈfɛnd/
Forfend has 2 syllables, split for·fend in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-forfend.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of forfend
- forfends present, singular, he/she/it
- forfending participle, present
- forfended participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is forfend?
Forfend appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th 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).
Forfend in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense prohibit; forbid; avert:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | verbieten, verhindern |
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 forfend come from?
From Middle English forfenden (“to ward off, protect, prohibit”), equivalent to for- + fend.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).