forspill

verb

forspill

verb

Etymology From Middle English forspillen, from Old English forspillan, forspildan (“to waste, lose, disperse, bring to nothing, destroy, ruin, kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *furispilþijan. Equivalent to for- + spill. Cognate with Old High German farspildan, Dutch verspillen (“to waste”), Swedish förspilla (“to waste”).

1

To destroy; ruin; lose.

  • In fine, all these treasures, like snow on the wold, Three days lain, then to nothing forspilled, suppose.1898, Omar Khayyam, John Payne, Villon Society, The quatrains of Omar Kheyyam of Nishapour:
  • In questing for the talisman That ruled the wished-for treasure, The world on me, for grief of her, Was all forspilled; and 'twas not.2011, John Payne Hafiz, The Collected Poems of Hafiz:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.