fortake

Etymology

From Middle English fortaken, equivalent to for- +‎ take. Cognate with dialectal Norwegian fortaka (“to assail, assault”), Swedish förta (“to deprive, take away, deaden”).

Verb

fortake (third-person singular simple present fortakes, present participle fortaking, simple past fortook, past participle fortaken)

1. (transitive) To take away; remove; deprive.
   • 1861, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Spoon and sparrow:

     Be ye not willing to hoard to you gold hoards on earth, where rust and moth fortake it, and where thieves delve it and forsteal, [...]

   • 1898, Stopford Augustus Brooke, English literature: from the beginning to the Norman conquest:

     In a slaughter wide they fell, woeful days of Bale came on; Famine-death fortook fortitude from men!

2. (transitive, UK dialectal) To mistake; make a mistake.
3. (transitive, UK dialectal) To aim or deal a blow at; hit.

Anagrams

• take for