*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of forge

From Middle English forge, from Old French forge, early Old French faverge, from Latin fabrica (“workshop”), from faber (“workman in hard materials, smith”) (genitive fabri). Cognate with Franco-Provençal favèrge. Double

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A furnace or hearth where metals are heated prior to hammering them into shape. · A workshop in which metals are shaped by heating and hammering them. · The act of beating or working iron or steel. · A web-based collaborative platform for developing and sharing software.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English forge, from Old French forge, early Old French faverge, from Latin fabrica (“workshop”), from faber (“workman in hard materials, smith”) (genitive fabri). Cognate with Franco-Provençal favèrge. Doublet of fabric and fabrica. Partially displaced English smithy. * Computing sense perhaps derived from the early SourceForge service, launched in 1999.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To shape a metal by heating and hammering. · To form or create with concerted effort. · To create a forgery of; to make a counterfeit item of; to copy or imitate unlawfully. · To make falsely; to produce, as that which is untrue or not genuine; to fabricate.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English forgen, from Anglo-Norman forger and Old French forgier, from Latin fabrico (“to frame, construct, build”). Doublet of fabricate.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "To form or create with concerted effort.",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To move forward slowly (originally as a ship); to advance gradually but steadily, especially in the face of resistance or difficulty. · To advance, move or act with an abrupt increase in speed or energy.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Make way, move ahead, most likely an alteration of force, but perhaps from forge (n.), via notion of steady hammering at something. Originally nautical, in reference to vessels.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for forge →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Zm9yZ2U