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Origin and history of for

for(prep.)

Old English for "before, in the sight of, in the presence of; as far as; during, before; on account of, for the sake of; in place of, instead of," from Proto-Germanic *fur "before; in" (source also of Old Saxon furi "before," Old Frisian for, Middle Dutch vore, Dutch voor "for, before;" German für "for;" Danish for "for," før "before;" Gothic faur "for," faura "before"), from PIE root *per- (1) "forward," hence "in front of, before," etc.

From late Old English as "in favor of." For and fore differentiated gradually in Middle English. For alone as a conjunction, "because, since, for the reason that; in order that" is from late Old English, probably a shortening of common Old English phrases such as for þon þy "therefore," literally "for the (reason) that."

Entries linking to for

afore(adv.)

Middle English, from Old English onforan, contraction of prepositional phrase on foran "before in place, at the beginning of, in front of," from on (prep.), see a- (1), + foran (adv.) "in front," dative of for. In some cases probably it represents Old English ætforan "at-fore."

Attested from early 14c. as a preposition, "before in time," and as a conjunction, "earlier than the time when, before." Once the literary equivalent of before, it now has been replaced by that word except in nautical use, colloquial dialects, and in combinations such as aforesaid, aforethought.

forever(adv.)

late 14c., for ever; from for + ever. Often written as one word from late 17c. As a noun by 1858. Emphatic forevermore is from 1819.

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nonce
in phrase for the nonce (Middle English for þe naness, c. 1200) "for a special occasion, for a particular purpose," a misdivision...(see N for other examples) of for þan anes "for the once," in reference to a particular occasion or purpose, the þan being...
fuel
c. 1200, feuel, feul "fuel, material for burning," also figurative, from Old French foaille "fuel for heating," from Medieval...Latin legal term focalia "right to demand material for making fire, right of cutting fuel," from classical Latin focalia..."brushwood for fuel," from neuter plural of Latin focalis "pertaining to a hearth," from focus "hearth, fireplace" (see...Of food, as fuel for the body, 1876. As "combustible liquid for an internal combustion engine" from 1886....
gorgonzola
type of blue cheese, 1878, short for Gorgonzola cheese (1866), named for Gorgonzola, village near Milan where it was made...In the neighbourhood is Gorgonzola, celebrated in the annals of the middle ages for the victory of Frederigo Barbarossa over...the Milanese, in 1158; for the capture of the chevalric and poetic king Ensius, in 1243; for the advantage gained by the...Torriani over the Visconti, in 1278, and which the latter revenged in 1281; but above all, famous for its strachino a cheese...
request
mid-14c., requeste, "act of asking for a favor, service, etc.; expression of desire for something to be granted or done,"...requeste (Modern French requête) "a request," from Vulgar Latin *requaesita, from Latin requisita (res) "(a thing) asked for...," from fem. of requisitus "requested, demanded," past participle of requirere "seek to know, ask, ask for" (see require)...From late 14c. as "that which one asks for."...
venal
1650s, "capable of being obtained for a price; that can be corrupted;" 1660s, "offered for sale," from French vénal, Old...French venel "for sale" (of prostitutes, etc.; 12c.), from Latin venalis "for sale, to be sold; capable of being bribed,"...from venum (nominative *venus) "for sale," from PIE root *wes- (1) "to buy, sell" (source also of Sanskrit vasnah "purchase...Typically with a bad sense of "ready to sell one's services or influence for money and from sordid motives; to be bought...
bathroom
Originally a room with apparatus for bathing (the only definition in "Century Dictionary," 1902); it came to be used 20c....in U.S. as a euphemism for a lavatory and often is noted as a word that confuses British travelers....To go to the bathroom, euphemism for "relieve oneself; urinate, defecate," is from 1920 (in a book for children), but typically...is used without regard for whether an actual bathroom is involved....
rink
But probably much confused in meaning with ring (n.1), also used for "area marked out for a sporting contest."...By 1787 (Burns) as "a sheet of ice measured off for curling;" extended to smooth wooden floors for roller-skating by 1875..., to ice surfaces measured for ice hockey by 1896....A modern Latinate word for an ice-skating rink is glaciarium (1876)....
fore
Old English fore (prep.) "before, in front of, in presence of; because of, for the sake of; earlier in time; instead of;" as an adverb, "before, previously, formerly, once," from Proto-Germanic *fura "before" (source also of Old Saxon fora, Old Frisian fara, Old High German fora,
implement
mid-15c., "supplementary payment, amount needed to complete repayment," from Late Latin implementem "a filling up" (as with provisions), from Latin implere "to fill, fill up, make full; fatten; fulfill, satisfy," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *e
duty
late 14c., duete, "obligatory service, that which ought to be done," also "the force of that which is morally right," from Anglo-French duete, from Old French deu "due, owed," hence "proper, just" (on the notion of "that which one is bound by natural, moral, or legal obligation t

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