Archaic term meaning to forfeit or lose something, particularly through neglect or violation of an agreement.
Possibly from 'for-' + 'leit' (lost), or a variant of 'forfeit.' The word blends Old English prefixing patterns with the concept of loss and penalty.
This word sits right at the intersection of 'forfeit' and 'for-' verbs—it's unclear whether it evolved from 'forfeit' or independently, but it shows how prefixes like 'for-' were so productive in Old English that they kept generating new verbs.
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