An archaic or dialect form meaning 'against' or 'facing'; used in older English texts to indicate position or opposition.
From Old English for- (against) + ninst, a variant of genist (against, opposite). This word combines the prefix for- with an obsolete preposition, showing how English prepositions have changed dramatically over centuries.
This word is so old that even medieval writers thought it sounded archaic—it's like finding a time capsule of English, a word so obsolete that it's obsolete in obsolete texts!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.