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forehold

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forehold¹

  • /ˈfɔːhəʊld/ UK
  • /ˈfɔɹˌhoʊld/ US

Where it comes from

From fore- (prefix meaning ‘positioned at or near the front’) + hold (“the cargo area of an aircraft or ship”). Hold is a variant of hole (influenced by hold (verb)), from Middle English hole, hol (“perforation, hole; cave, cavern; hiding place, shelter; cell, compartment”), from Old English hol (“hole (in the ground)”), from Proto-West Germanic *hol (“hollow”), from Proto-Germanic *hulą (“depression, hollow; hole”), from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”); further etymology uncertain, possibly either from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover; to conceal, hide”) or *ḱewh₁- (“to be strong; to swell”).

noun foreholds

  1. The forward or front part of the hold of a ship. It freezes very hard, and we find it extreamly cold. The next Day, the ſame Weather, we went aboard, and ſcuttled for Flower in the Forehold. The 25th, little Wind at N.E. and froſty Weather, went aboard again, and got out of the Forehold eight Barrels of Flower, one Cask of Peaſe, with ſome Brandy

forehold²

  • /fɔːˈhəʊld/ UK
  • /fə-/ UK
  • /fɔɹˈhoʊld/ US
  • /fɚ-/ US

Sounds like forhold · Rhymes with -əʊld

Where it comes from

From fore- (prefix meaning ‘occurring beforehand; earlier, prior to’) + hold (“to maintain; to consider, opine”). Hold is derived from Middle English holden (“to grasp; to possess; to hold (a belief or opinion”), from Old English healdan (“to grasp, hold fast; to possess”), from Proto-West Germanic *haldan (“to hold; to keep”), from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to hold; to keep”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover; to conceal, hide”).

verb foreholds · foreholding · foreheld · foreholden

  1. rare, transitive To hold or believe (something) beforehand; to assume; to anticipate, to predict. Instead of that he has encountered nothing but harsh criticism, unkindly dispositions, even on the part of his relatives, and he naturally drifted into places and surroundings where legitimate sympathy was not foreheld.

    Similar: foredeem, presage, prognosticate, anticipate, augur, bode, call, divine, forecast, forehold, foresee, foreshadow

Translations

Every language

noun forward or front part of the hold of a ship

中文前艙 /前舱 qiáncāng
Françaiscale avant
Deutschvorderer Laderaum

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MLA

"forehold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/forehold. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

forehold. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/forehold

Chicago

"forehold." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/forehold.

BibTeX
@misc{forehold_2026,
  title = {forehold},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/forehold},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}