Past tense of 'forego': to go before, precede, or come before something else in time or position.
From Old English 'fore-' (before) + 'went' (past tense of 'go'). Unlike 'forgo' (meaning to do without), 'forewent' means literally to go ahead. The archaic past tense survives from strong verb patterns.
English speakers often confuse 'forgo' and 'forego'—one means skip/go without, the other means go before. The forewent/forego family is the 'go before' group, which is why it sounds formal and old-fashioned!
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