Advertisement

Origin and history of forgiving

forgiving(adj.)

"inclined to forgive," 1680s, from present participle of forgive. Related: Forgivingness.

also from 1680s

Entries linking to forgiving

forgive(v.)

Middle English foryeven, from Old English forgiefan "give, grant, allow; remit (a debt), pardon (an offense)," also "give up" and "give in marriage" (past tense forgeaf, past participle forgifen); from for-, here probably "completely," + giefan "to give" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive").

The sense of "to give up desire or power to punish" (late Old English) is from use of such a compound as a Germanic loan-translation of Vulgar Latin *perdonare (Old Saxon fargeban, Dutch vergeven, German vergeben "to forgive," Gothic fragiban "to grant;" and see pardon (n.)). Related: Forgave; forgiven; forgiving.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    condone
    1857, "to forgive or pardon" (something wrong), especially by implication, from Latin condonare "to give up, remit, permit," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see con-), + donare "give as a gift," from donum "gift" (from PIE root *do- "to give"). It
    remit
    late 14c., remitten, "to forgive, pardon," from Latin remittere "send back, slacken, let go back, abate," from re- "back" (see re-) + mittere "to send" (see mission). Secondary senses predominate in English. From c. 1400 as "refer for consideration or performance from one person
    merit
    c. 1200, "spiritual credit" (for good works, etc.); c. 1300, "spiritual reward," from Old French merite "wages, pay, reward; thanks; merit, moral worth, that which assures divine pity" (12c.) and directly from Latin meritum "a merit, service, kindness, benefit, favor; worth, valu
    mitre
    mid-14c., "bishop's tall hat," from Old French mitre and directly from Latin mitra "headband, turban," from Greek mitra "headband, turban," earlier a belt or cloth worn under armor about the waist, perhaps from PIE root *mei- "to bind, attach" (source also of Sanskrit mitra- "fri
    yield
    Old English gieldan (West Saxon), geldan (Anglian) "to pay, pay for; reward, render; worship, serve, sacrifice to" (class III strong verb; past tense geald, past participle golden), from Proto-Germanic *geldan "pay" (source also of Old Saxon geldan "to be worth," Old Norse gjaldo
    excuse
    mid-13c., "attempt to clear (someone) from blame, find excuses for," from Old French escuser (12c., Modern French excuser) "apologize, make excuses; pardon, exonerate," from Latin excusare "excuse, apologize, make an excuse for, plead as an excuse; release from a charge; decline,
    pardon
    c. 1300, pardoun, "papal indulgence, forgiveness of sins or wrongdoing," from Old French pardon, from pardoner "to grant; forgive" (11c., Modern French pardonner), "to grant, forgive," and directly from Medieval Latin perdonum, from Vulgar Latin *perdonare "to give wholeheartedly
    shiver
    "to tremble or quiver, shake suddenly," especially with cold, c. 1400, an alteration of chiveren "to shiver" (with cold, chills, horror), c. 1200, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps [Century Dictionary] from Old English ceafl "jaw," on the notion of chattering teeth. Middle Engl
    shrive
    Middle English shriven "make confession; administer the sacrament of penance to," from Old English scrifan "assign, prescribe, ordain, decree; impose penance, hear confession; have regard for, care for," apparently originally "to write" (strong, past tense scraf, past participle
    justify
    c. 1300, "to administer justice;" late 14c., "to show (something) to be just or right," from Old French justifiier "submit to court proceedings" (12c.), from Late Latin iustificare "act justly toward; make just," from Latin iustificus "dealing justly, righteous," from iustus "jus

    Share forgiving

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near forgiving
    Advertisement