forspan
See also: foršpan
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English forspannen, forspanen, from Old English forspanan (“to mislead, lead astray, seduce, entice”), from Proto-Germanic *farspananą, *fraspananą (“to allure”), equivalent to for- + span. Cognate with Middle High German verspanen (“to tempt, entice”).
Verb edit
forspan (third-person singular simple present forspans, present participle forspanning, simple past and past participle forspanned)
- (transitive, obsolete) To entice; seduce.
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
forspan (uncountable)
- Foresight; the ability to see, predict, or perceive future events.
- 1902, Day Otis Kellogg, Thomas Spencer Baynes, William Robertson Smith, The Encyclopaedia Britannica:
- In a remote age and country we find Njal, the hero of the Njal's saga, credited with forspan, or the gift of beholding such shadowy apparitions of future events — a power carefully distinguished from ordinary clear-sighted wisdom.