forthcome

verb

"forthcome" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“forthcome” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To come forth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-forthcome · forthcome · English

forthcome · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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.

Key facts for forthcome
PropertyValue
Headwordforthcome
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “forthcome” in English

forthcomefalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

forthcome is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To come forth.".

Zero misspellings are on record for forthcome in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forthcomen, from Old English forþcuman (“to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed, come to pass, come true, be born”), from Proto-Germanic *furþą (“forth”), *kwemaną (“to come”), equivalent to forth- + come. The correct English form is forthcome, spelled F-O-R-T-H-C-O-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To come forth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how forthcome appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. By dropping a penny in the slot, the gas was forthcoming, and when a penny's worth had forthcome the supply was automatically shut off.
  2. The crowd slowly dissolved as news from doctors and Service upstairs failed to forthcome.

Etymology

From Middle English forthcomen, from Old English forþcuman (“to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed, come to pass, come true, be born”), from Proto-Germanic *furþą (“forth”), *kwemaną (“to come”), equivalent to forth- + come.

Synonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "forthcome"?
"forthcome" is spelled F-O-R-T-H-C-O-M-E.
What does "forthcome" mean?
As a verb, "forthcome" means: To come forth.
What is the origin of the word "forthcome"?
From Middle English forthcomen, from Old English forþcuman (“to come forth, proceed, arrive at, succeed, come to pass, come true, be born”), from Proto-Germanic *furþą (“forth”), *kwemaną (“to come”), equivalent to forth- + come. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list