forsake
UK[fəˈseɪk]US[fɔːrˈseɪk]
v
To leave someone, especially when you have a responsibility to stay with them.
v
To stop doing, using, or having something; to renounce or give up.
Morpheme Breakdown
for
sake
for
sake
strife,
Etymology
The word 'forsake' originates from Old English forsacan, meaning "to oppose, deny, or refuse." It is composed of the intensive prefix for- and the verb sacan, meaning "to dispute or strive." This Old English verb sacan itself derives from the Proto-Germanic root sakaną, which carried the sense of "to blame" or "to dispute." Over time, the meaning evolved from the active sense of "to refuse or renounce" to the more poignant modern sense of "to abandon or give up entirely," reflecting a shift from a stance of opposition to one of complete desertion.
Analysis
Structure: for + sake
for: Old English; a prefix with an intensive or perfective sense, often implying negation, abstention, or destruction.
sake: Old English; a noun meaning "strife," "dispute," "charge," or "guilt."
Examples
He would never forsake his duty to his family.
She decided to forsake her worldly possessions and live a simple life.
The ancient city was forsaken by its inhabitants after the drought.