forgive

Alternation (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (“to forgive, to give”), from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (“to give away; give up; release; forgive”), equivalent to for- +‎ give (etymologically for- + yive). Cognate with Scots forgeve, forgif, forgie (“to forgive”), West Frisian ferjaan (“to forgive”), Dutch vergeven (“to forgive”), German vergeben (“to forgive”), Icelandic fyrirgefa (“to forgive”).

• enPR: fər-gĭv', fôr-gĭv', IPA^(key): /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/, /fɔː(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɚˈɡɪv/

• Audio (US, California)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪv

forgive (third-person singular simple present forgives, present participle forgiving, simple past forgave, past participle forgiven)

1. (transitive) To pardon; to waive any negative feeling or desire for punishment, retribution, or compensation.

   Please forgive me if my phone goes off - I'm expecting an urgent call from my boss.

   Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.

   Forgive a debt, that is, tell a debtor that a repayment of a loan is no longer needed.

2. (intransitive) To accord forgiveness.
   • a. 1768, Laurence Sterne, Joseph's History considered; - Forgiveness of Injuries (sermon)

     The brave know only how to forgive […] A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.

• forgivable
• forgive and forget
• forgiveness
• forgiver
• forgiveworthy

• forgive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• forgive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913