forename.
A name that precedes the surname.
Meaning & usage
A name that precedes the surname.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂éy Proto-Germanic *furai Proto-Germanic *furai- Proto-West Germanic *forē- Old English fore- Middle English fore- English fore- Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ Proto-Germanic *namô Proto-West Germanic *namō Old English nama Middle English name English name English forename From fore- + name.
To assign (someone) a first name.
Synonym of prenominate.
To appoint in advance.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der. Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂éy Proto-Germanic *furai Proto-Germanic *furai- Proto-West Germanic *forē- Old English fore- Middle English fore- English fore- Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ Proto-Germanic *namô Proto-West Germanic *namō Old English nama Middle English name English name English forename From fore- + name.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.