verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb

1. 1
   To depart from (someone); leave (someone) behind; abandon; forsake; desert; give up; relinquish. ambitransitive, obsolete

   "In a lityll I forlefte the."

Etymology

From Middle English forleven; equivalent to for- + leave. Compare Old High German firleiban.

Related phrases

give up

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.