far be it
phraseEtymology
Calque of Latin absit ("may it be away"), found in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as part of the phrase absit hoc a me ("may this [thing] be away from me") at 1 Samuel 2:30, 1 Samuel 22:15 and 2 Samuel 20:20. Wyclif translated the phrase "Fer be this fro me"; the King James Version at 2 Samuel 20:20 has "Far be it from me".
Definitions
A disclaimer stating that something should not come to pass, or that a person would never…
A disclaimer stating that something should not come to pass, or that a person would never do or think a certain thing.
- Samuel 20:20, And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.
- October 1761, Oliver Cromwell, letter to Mr. Storie Far be it that soe much guilt should sticke to your hands, who live in a citye so renowned for the clere shininge light of the Gospell.
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for far be it. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA