How do you pronounce forlorn?

The recorded pronunciation is /fɚˈlɔɹn/.

Where does forlorn come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

forlorn

/fɚˈlɔɹn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English

Syllables: for-lorn
IPA: /fɚˈlɔɹn/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Abandoned, deserted, left behind.

adj

Pitifully sad, wretched, miserable; lonely, especially from feeling abandoned, deserted, forsaken.

adj

Unlikely to succeed; hopeless.

noun

A forlorn hope.

noun

A member of a forlorn hope.

verb

past participle of forlese.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

"For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne."
"Some ſay that Rauens foſter forlorne children, / The vvhilſt their ovvne birds famiſh in their neſts: / Oh be to me though thy hard hart ſay no, / Nothing ſo kinde but ſomething pittifull."
"More join us at Colwall and at the lovely station at Great Malvern, although the place is in need of some TLC nowadays. The ornate canopy supports are overdue a repaint, and the closed cafe gives the place a forlorn air."
"There are few sights that leave a railway lover more wistful than a desolate railway viaduct no longer carrying tracks. As with tunnels, so much effort was made to conquer the landscape, yet so many now stand forlorn."
"For here forlorn and loſt I tread, / With fainting ſteps and ſlow; / Where wilds immeaſurably ſpread, / Seem lengthening as I go."
"This is the Maiden all forlorn, That milked the Cow with the crumpled Horn[.]"

Etymology

From Middle English forlorn, forloren, from Old English forloren (past participle of forlēosan (“to lose”)), from Proto-Germanic *fraluzanaz (“lost”), past participle of Proto-Germanic *fraleusaną (“to lose”), equivalent to for- + lorn. Cognate with West Frisian ferlern (“lost”), Saterland Frisian ferlädden (“lost”), Dutch verloren (“lost”), German Low German verloren (“lost”), German verloren (“lost”), Swedish förlorad (“lost”). See further at lese/leese, lorn.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Prefix: for
Root: *per-, forlorn, forloren, *fraluzanaz, *fraleusaną

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /fɚˈlɔɹn/
British English: /fəˈlɔːn/

Usage

Obsolete

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Military.

Inflected Forms

forlorner (comparative) more forlorn (comparative) forlornest (superlative) most forlorn (superlative) forlorne (alternative) forlorns (plural)

Derived Forms

forlornity forlornling forlornly forlornness unforlorn

Phrases

forlorn hope

Frequently Paired Words

forlorn hope lovelorn

Synonyms

desolate forsaken peopleless abandoned derelict desert deserted discarded dropped forlorn high and dry left behind

Rhymes With

born first-born porn worn corn horn torn warn sworn borne thorn mourn