Word of the Day

: May 22, 2007

foreshorten

verb for-SHORT-un

What It Means

1 : to shorten by proportionately contracting in the direction of depth so that an illusion of projection or extension in space is obtained

2 : to make more compact : abridge, shorten

foreshorten in Context

We had a wonderful vacation, even if our time at the beach was foreshortened by two days of rain.

Did You Know?

"Foreshorten" first appeared in a 1606 treatise on art by the British writer and artist Henry Peacham: "If I should paint ... an horse with his brest and head looking full in my face, I must of necessity foreshorten him behinde." Peacham's "foreshorten" probably comes from "fore-" (meaning "earlier" or "beforehand") plus "shorten." The addition of "fore-" to verbs was a routine practice in Peacham's day, creating such words as "fore-conclude," "fore-consider," "fore-instruct," and "fore-repent." "Foreshorten," along with words like "foresee" and "foretell," is one of the few "fore-" combinations to still survive.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.