forstand
/fɚˈstænd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "And ſure, although it was invented to eaſe his mynde of griefe, there be a number of caveats therein to forewarne other young gentlemen to foreſtand with good government their folowing yl fortunes; […]"
- ""As he would more of them had not wise God, Wierd forstood him, and the man's courage.""
- "Hemophilia is a contraindication for vaginal hysterectomy, unless you have the time to build your patient up in order to forestand the shock."
- "A mighty angel there forstood them."
- "How can I forstand your Professors, when they dinna forstand themselves."
Etymology
From Middle English forstanden, from Old English forstandan (“to defend, help, protect, withstand, prevent, hinder, resist, oppose, benefit, avail, understand, signify, be equal to”), from Proto-West Germanic *frastandan (“to understand, oppose”), equivalent to for- + stand. Cognate with West Frisian ferstean (“to understand”), Saterland Frisian ferstounde (“to understand”), Dutch verstaan (“to understand”), German verstehen (“to understand”). Compare also Norwegian Bokmål forstå (“to comprehend, understand”), Swedish förstå (“to comprehend, understand”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: forstanden, forstandan, *frastandan
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɚˈstænd/
- British English: /fə(ɹ)ˈstænd/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- British usage