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Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."
Examples of forebear in a Sentence
Lisa Henricksson, Air Mail, 29 Mar. 2025
And then there’s that — art history, her forebears, with whom these paintings are communing.
—Adam Moss, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
The Dry Creek Wilderness Area remains as close to the Arkansas of our forebears as any area in the state.
—Bob Robinson, arkansasonline.com, 19 Jan. 2025
Our forebears understood the power of access to knowledge.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forebear
Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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