Rdxfbgrtj

English

Etymology

Middle English from ca. 1300, from Old French forfait (“crime”), originally the past participle of forfaire (“to transgress”), and Medieval Latin foris factum. During the 15th century, the sense shifted from the crime to the penalty for the crime.

Pronunciation

• 
  (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔː.fɪt/
  


• 
  (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹ.fɪt/
  


• 
  .mw-parser-output .k-player .k-attribution{visibility:hidden}
  
  
  
  
  

  Audio (US)

  (file)

  
  


• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)fɪt
  

Noun

forfeit (plural forfeits)

1. A penalty for or consequence of a misdemeanor.
   

   
   That he our deadly forfeit should release (John Milton, On the Morning of Christ's Nativity, 1629)

   
   


2. A thing forfeited; that which is taken from somebody in requital of a misdeed committed; that which is lost, or the right to which is alienated, by a crime, breach of contract, etc.
   

   He who murders pays the forfeit of his own life.

   
   
   • Shakespeare
     

     Thy slanders I forgive; and therewithal / Remit thy other forfeits.

     
     
   
   


3. Something deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine as part of a game.
   
   • Goldsmith
     

     Country dances and forfeits shortened the rest of the day.

     
     
   
   


4. 
   (obsolete, rare) Injury; wrong; mischief.
   
   • Ld. Berners
     

     to seek arms upon people and country that never did us any forfeit
     

     
     
   
   

Translations

Verb

forfeit (third-person singular simple present forfeits, present participle forfeiting, simple past and past participle forfeited or (rare) forfeit)

1. To suffer the loss of something by wrongdoing or non-compliance
   

   He forfeited his last chance of an early release from jail by repeatedly attacking another inmate.

   
   


2. To lose a contest, game, match, or other form of competition by voluntary withdrawal, by failing to attend or participate, or by violation of the rules
   

   Because only nine players were present, the football team was forced to forfeit the game.

   
   


3. To be guilty of a misdeed; to be criminal; to transgress.


4. To fail to keep an obligation.
   
   • Shakespeare
     

     I will have the heart of him if he forfeit.

     
     
   
   

Synonyms

• 
  (lose a contest): capitulate, surrender, disqualify
  


• 
  (voluntarily give up): forgo, withgo
  

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

forfeit (not comparable)

1. Lost or alienated for an offense or crime; liable to penal seizure.
   
   • Emerson
     

     to tread the forfeit paradise

     
     
   
   

Anagrams

• toffier