forbid

verb
/fɚˈbɪd/US/fəˈbɪd/UK

Etymology

From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate with Dutch verbieden (“to forbid”), German verbieten (“to forbid”), Danish forbyde (“to forbid”), Norwegian Bokmål forby (“to forbid”), Swedish förbjuda (“to forbid”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (faurbiudan). Related to forbode.

  1. inherited from *furibeudaną
  2. inherited from forbēodan
  3. inherited from forbeden

Definitions

  1. To disallow

    To disallow; to proscribe.

    • Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden.
    • […] the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.
    • Solon also forbade the export of corn and other agricultural products, with the single exception of olive oil, of which Athens had a surplus.
  2. To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.

    • Have I not forbid her my house?
  3. To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.

    • An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.
    • a blaze of glory that forbids the sight
  4. + 2 more definitions
    1. To accurse

      To accurse; to blast.

      • He shall live a man forbid.
    2. To defy

      To defy; to challenge.

      • What part of "no" do you forbid to understand?

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at forbid. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01forbid02proscribe03prohibit04illicit05unlawful06prohibited07forbidden

A definitional loop anchored at forbid. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at forbid

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA