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Webster 1913 Edition

Forlorn

For-lorn′

,
Adj.
[OE., p. p. of
forlesen
to lose utterly, AS.
forleósan
(p. p.
forloren
); pref.
for-
+
leósan
(in comp.) to lose; cf. D.
verliezen
to lose, G.
verlieren
, Sw.
förlora
, Dan.
forloren
, Goth.
fraliusan
to lose. See
For-
, and
Lorn
,
Adj.
,
Lose
,
Verb.
T.
]
1.
Deserted; abandoned; lost.
Of fortune and of hope at once
forlorn
.
Spenser.
Some say that ravens foster
forlorn
children.
Shakespeare
2.
Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
For here
forlorn
and lost I tread.
Goldsmith.
The condition of the besieged in the mean time was
forlorn
in the extreme.
Prescott.
She cherished the
forlorn
hope that he was still living.
Thomson.
Syn. – Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary; helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable; pitiable.

For-lorn′

,
Noun.
1.
A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
Forced to live in Scotland a
forlorn
.
Shakespeare
2.
A forlorn hope; a vanguard.
[Obs.]
Our
forlorn
of horse marched within a mile of the enemy.
Oliver Cromvell.

Webster 1828 Edition

Forlorn

FORLORN'

,
Adj.
1.
Deserted; destitute; stripped or deprived; forsaken. Hence, lost; helpless; wretched; solitary.
Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn.
To live again in these wild woods forlorn.
For here forlorn and lost I tread.
2.
Taken away. Obs.
When as night hath us of light forlorn.
3.
Small; despicable; in a ludicrous sense.
Forlorn hope, properly, a desperate case; hence in military affairs, a detachment of men appointed to lead in an assault, to storm a counterscarp, enter a breach, or perform other service attended with uncommon peril.

FORLORN'

,
Noun.
A lost, forsaken, solitary person.

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