forn

See also: fórn

English

Etymology

From Middle English forn, from Old English foran (“before, in front, forward, to the front”). More at fore.

Adverb

forn (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Fore, before; in front of; forward; previously.
   • 1598-1602, [author unknown], The Parnassus plays

     Stories of love, where forne the wondring bench, / The lisping gallant might injoy his wench.

Derived terms

• forncast

Anagrams

• Fron, Norf.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin furnus, from Proto-Italic *fornos, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰr̥-nós, from *gʷʰer- (“warm, hot”). Compare Occitan forn or horn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈforn]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈfoɾn]

• Audio (Valencia):

  (file)

Noun

forn m (plural forns)

1. oven
2. bakery

   Synonyms: fleca, forn de pa

Derived terms

• enfornar
• forn de microones
• forn de pa
• fornada
• fornejar
• forner

Related terms

• fornell
• forner

Further reading

• “forn”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “forn”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “forn” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “forn” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Cornish

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *furn, from Latin furnus. Cognate with Welsh ffwrn (“oven”).

Pronunciation

• (Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [fɔrn]
• (Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): [vɔrn]

Noun

forn f (plural fornow)

1. oven

   Yma pysk y'n forn.

   There’s a fish in the oven.

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin furnus.

Noun

forn m (plural forns) (ORB, broad)

1. oven

References

• four in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• forn in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Further information

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 239: “il forno” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
• ALF: Atlas Linguistique de la France^[1] [Linguistic Atlas of France] – map 602: “four” – on lig-tdcge.imag.fr
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “fŭrnus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 3: D–F, page 902

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔ(r)t⁽ʰ⁾n/

  Rhymes: -ɔrtn

Adjective

forn (comparative fornari, superlative fornastur)

1. old, ancient

Declension

Positive forms of forn

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	forn	forn	fornt
	accusative	fornan	forna
	dative	fornum	fornri	fornu
	genitive	forns	fornrar	forns
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	fornir	fornar	forn
	accusative	forna
	dative	fornum
	genitive	fornra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	forni	forna	forna
	acc/dat/gen	forna	fornu
	plural (all-case)	fornu

Comparative forms of forn

weak declension (definite)		masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular (all-case)	fornari	fornari	fornara
	plural (all-case)	fornari

Superlative forms of forn

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	fornastur	fornust	fornast
	accusative	fornastan	fornasta
	dative	fornustum	fornastri	fornustu
	genitive	fornasts	fornastrar	fornasts
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	fornastir	fornastar	fornust
	accusative	fornasta
	dative	fornustum
	genitive	fornastra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	fornasti	fornasta	fornasta
	acc/dat/gen	fornasta	fornustu
	plural (all-case)	fornustu

Maltese

Root
f-r-n
1 term

Etymology

From Arabic فُرْن (furn), from Aramaic פורנא / ܦܘܪܢܐ (pūrnā), from Ancient Greek φοῦρνος (phoûrnos), from Latin furnus. There is no reason to doubt the inheritance of the word in Maltese and consider it a borrowing from an Italo-Romance cognate such as Italian forno. The Arabic word is attested early, the outcome forn is expected in Maltese, and so is the plural fran from Arabic أَفْران (ʔafrān). Only the derivative furnar (“baker”) is, of course, a borrowing (widely replacing native ħabbież).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔrn/

Noun

forn m (plural fran, diminutive frajjen)

1. oven

Related terms

• fernaq
• furnar (fornar)
• furnata (fornata, infurnata)
• inforna

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Adjective

forn (neuter fornt, definite singular and plural forne, comparative fornare, indefinite superlative fornast, definite superlative fornaste)

1. old, ancient

References

• “forn” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin furnus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fuɾn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

forn m (plural forns)

1. oven

Dialectal variants

• horn (Gascon)

Derived terms

• enfornar
• fornada
• fornairon
• fornariá
• fornassa
• fornatge
• fornejar
• fornèl
• fornelar
• fornial
• fornièr

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *forn, *furn, from Proto-Germanic *furnaz, variant of *fernaz.

Alternative forms

• fōrn

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /forn/, [forˠn]

Adjective

forn

1. old, longstanding, time-honoured

Adverb

forn

1. before, in front of, opposite, across from
   • Ġesæt Benedictus forn onġēan ðam ― Sat Benedict opposite to them (Homl. Th. ii. 168, 15)
   • Oþðæt he eft cume hyre forne ġēan ― until he again comes opposite to it (Bd. de nat. rerum; Wrt. popl. science 8, 13; Lchdm. iii. 248, 17)

Related terms

• forne
• foran
• fyrn

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *forhnu, from Proto-Germanic *furhnō (“trout”).

Alternative forms

• fōrn

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /forn/, [forˠn]

Noun

forn f

1. trout

Usage notes

• The precise gender of the word is unknown. It is generally regarded as a feminine ō-stem due to cognates in related Germanic languages.

Old Gutnish

Etymology

Cognate with Old Norse forn.

Adjective

forn

1. old, ancient

Derived terms

• fyrnska (“ancientry, ancient (heathen) practices”)

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fernaz (“foregoing, previous; recent”), from Proto-Indo-European *perHm-, *perH- (“fore, first”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forth, over, across, through”). Cognate with Old English firn, fyrn-, Old Frisian fīr, fēr, Old Saxon fern, Old High German firni, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌽𐌴𐌹𐍃 (fairneis).

Adjective

forn (comparative fornari, superlative fornastr)

1. old, ancient

Declension

Strong declension of forn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	forn	forn	fornt
accusative	fornan	forna	fornt
dative	fornum	forni	fornu
genitive	forns	fornar	forns
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornir	fornar	forn
accusative	forna	fornar	forn
dative	fornum	fornum	fornum
genitive	forna	forna	forna

Weak declension of forn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	forni	forna	forna
accusative	forna	fornu	forna
dative	forna	fornu	forna
genitive	forna	fornu	forna
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornu	fornu	fornu
accusative	fornu	fornu	fornu
dative	fornum	fornum	fornum
genitive	fornu	fornu	fornu

Declension of comparative of forn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornari	fornari	fornara
accusative	fornara	fornari	fornara
dative	fornara	fornari	fornara
genitive	fornara	fornari	fornara
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornari	fornari	fornari
accusative	fornari	fornari	fornari
dative	fornurum	fornurum	fornurum
genitive	fornari	fornari	fornari

Strong declension of superlative of forn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornastr	fornust	fornast
accusative	fornastan	fornasta	fornast
dative	fornustum	fornastri	fornustu
genitive	fornasts	fornastrar	fornasts
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornastir	fornastar	fornust
accusative	fornasta	fornastar	fornust
dative	fornustum	fornustum	fornustum
genitive	fornastra	fornastra	fornastra

Weak declension of superlative of forn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornasti	fornasta	fornasta
accusative	fornasta	fornustu	fornasta
dative	fornasta	fornustu	fornasta
genitive	fornasta	fornustu	fornasta
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornustu	fornustu	fornustu
accusative	fornustu	fornustu	fornustu
dative	fornustum	fornustum	fornustum
genitive	fornustu	fornustu	fornustu

Descendants

• Icelandic: forn
• Faroese: fornur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: forn
• Norwegian: (dialectal) fonn, fodn
• Norwegian Bokmål: forn
• Old Swedish: forn
  • Swedish: forn
• Danish: forne

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “forn”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin furnus. Gallo-Romance cognate with Old French forn.

Noun

forn m (oblique plural forns, nominative singular forns, nominative plural forn)

1. oven (device for baking, cooking, etc.)

Descendants

• Occitan: forn

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “furnus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 3: D–F, page 902

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz.

Adjective

forn

1. ancient, very old

Declension

Declension of forn (strong)

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	forn	forn	fornt
accusative	fornan	forna	fornt
dative	fornum fornom	forni forni	fornu forno
genitive	forns	fornar	forns
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornir forner	fornar	forn
accusative	forna	fornar	forn
dative	fornum fornom	fornum fornom	fornum fornom
genitive	forna forna	forna forna	forna forna

Declension of forn (weak)

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	forni forne	forna	forna
accusative	forna	fornu forno	forna
dative	forna	fornu forno	forna
genitive	forna	fornu forno	forna
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fornu forno	fornu forno	fornu forno
accusative	fornu forno	fornu forno	fornu forno
dative	fornu forno	fornu forno	fornu forno
genitive	fornu forno	fornu forno	fornu forno

Descendants

• Swedish: forn

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish forn, from Old Norse forn, from Proto-Germanic *fernaz (“foregoing, previous; recent”), from Proto-Indo-European *perǝm-, *perǝ- (“fore, first”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“forth, over, across, through”).

Adjective

forn

1. belonging to the (ancient) past

   Det forna Jugoslavien ― The former Yugoslavia

Usage notes

Rare in other forms than forna or forne, or as part of compounds.

Declension

Inflection of forn

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	forn	—	—
neuter singular	fornt	—	—
plural	forna	—	—
masculine plural2	forne	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	forne	—	—
all	forna	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

• fornforskare
• fornforskning
• forngermansk
• forngrekisk
• fornminne
• fornnordisk
• fornnordiska (“Old Norse”)
• fornsvensk
• forntid
• forntida

References

• forn in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• forn in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• forn in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)