forster
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Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
forster
- Alternative form of forester
- late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue, The Canterbury Tales, line 116-117:
- An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;
A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.- He carried a horn, the shoulder strap was green;
He was a forester, truly, as I guess.
- He carried a horn, the shoulder strap was green;
- late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, General Prologue, The Canterbury Tales, line 116-117:
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
forster
- (hypercorrect) Alternative form of foster
Usage notes[edit]
- This form is a hypercorrection reflecting two Middle English phonological tendencies:
- The tendency for /r/ to be lost before /s/ (especially before /st/); compare gost, alternative form of gorst.
- The tendency for /r/ to be lost due to dissimilation before another /r/; compare capentrie, alternative form of carpentrie.
- While forms reflective of these trends usually do not prevail in standard Modern English (though note bass, smother), they often survive in dialectal and informal speech; compare bust, hoss with burst, horse.