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Forebear (also spelled, less commonly, as forbear) was first used by our ancestors in the days of Middle English. Fore- means "coming before," just as in forefather, and -bear means "one that is." This -bear is not to be confused with the -bear in the unrelated verb forbear, which comes from Old English beran, meaning "to bear or carry." The -bear in the noun forebear is a combination of be-, from the verb be (or, more specifically, from been, an old dialect variant of be), and -ar, a form of the suffix -er, which we append to verbs to denote one that performs a specified action. In this case the "action" is simply existing or being—in other words, -bear implies one who is a "be-er."
Examples of forebear in a Sentence
Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
In one reading, Louise’s terrorist arc is a refreshing subversion of the political correctness of Cash’s millennial forebears, the Patricia Lockwoods and Sally Rooneys and Sheila Hetis of the world, who might never dream of straying from their lane of lived experience.
—Malavika Kannan, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
Infiniti’s look called to mind two legendary forebears.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2026
Another camp speculates that these forebears met human nomads on the trail of big game and started traveling with them, eventually arriving in China via Mongolia through their supporting role as war dogs.
—Andrew Norman Wilson, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Forebear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forebear. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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