Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb In truth; indeed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In truth; in fact; certainly; very well: now commonly used ironically.
- [Being formerly common as an affected garnish of polite conversation, forsooth came to be regarded as noting a ladies' man, and was occasionally used, allusively, as a noun or a verb.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To address respectfully with the term
forsooth . - adverb In truth; in fact; certainly; very well; -- formerly used as an expression of deference or respect, especially to woman; now used ironically or contemptuously.
- noun rare A person who used
forsooth much; a very ceremonious and deferential person.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb archaic, as an intensifier
indeed ,truthfully ,really
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb an archaic word originally meaning `in truth' but now usually used to express disbelief
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"Attacked!" repeated Wolfe, -- "attacked!" and then suddenly sinking his voice into a sort of sneer, "why, since the event which this painting is designed to commemorate, I know not if we have ever had one solitary gleam of liberty break along the great chaos of jarring prejudice and barbarous law which we term forsooth a glorious constitution.
The Disowned — Volume 02 Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838
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"Attacked!" repeated Wolfe, -- "attacked!" and then suddenly sinking his voice into a sort of sneer, "why, since the event which this painting is designed to commemorate, I know not if we have ever had one solitary gleam of liberty break along the great chaos of jarring prejudice and barbarous law which we term forsooth a glorious constitution.
The Disowned — Complete Edward Bulwer Lytton Lytton 1838
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Why must my name forsooth be given up to the Commander-in-Chief as that of the most guilty of the grumblers?
The Virginians William Makepeace Thackeray 1837
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Thou deem’st it Hell but here, forsooth, is Heaven,
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Hear sentence forsooth, that is, the ratling of broken glasses, and the expounding of dreams?
The Satyricon of Petronius Arbiter 20-66 Petronius Arbiter
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So that there on her head sang the ring-sword forsooth
The Tale of Beowulf Sometime King of the Folk of the Weder Geats Anonymous
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But let him now dare _allude_ to Romanism -- he offends one-half of his congregation -- he is _preaching_ politics -- they will hear him no more; or forsooth, which is more common, they will withhold his support and starve him out!
Americanism Contrasted with Foreignism, Romanism, and Bogus Democracy in the Light of Reason, History, and Scripture; In which Certain Demagogues in Tennessee, and Elsewhere, are Shown Up in Their True Colors William Gannaway Brownlow 1841
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You pretend to carry despatches to a general who has been dead these ten months: you have an uncle who is an ambassador, and whose name forsooth you don't know.
Barry Lyndon William Makepeace Thackeray 1837
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"Your city-mannerly word forsooth, use it not too often in any case."
Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete 1661 N.S. Samuel Pepys 1668
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"Your city-mannerly word forsooth, use it not too often in any case."
Diary of Samuel Pepys — Volume 09: January/February/March 1660-61 Samuel Pepys 1668
arby commented on the word forsooth
I think this word should be brought back into style.. who's with me?
August 21, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word forsooth
Methinks ye may be on to something.
August 21, 2007
reesetee commented on the word forsooth
Strewth, I believe you're right!
August 22, 2007
trivet commented on the word forsooth
Ods bodkins! It could be fun.
August 22, 2007
oroboros commented on the word forsooth
Fersure dude! :^P
August 22, 2007