FORGIVE
forgive
(verb) stop blaming or grant forgiveness; “I forgave him his infidelity”; “She cannot forgive him for forgetting her birthday”
forgive
(verb) absolve from payment; “I forgive you your debt”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
forgive (third-person singular simple present forgives, present participle forgiving, simple past forgave, past participle forgiven)
(transitive) To pardon; to waive any negative feeling or desire for punishment, retribution, or compensation.
(intransitive) To accord forgiveness.
Source: Wiktionary
For*give", v. t. [imp. Forgave; p. p. Forgiven; p. pr. & vb. n.
Forgiving] Etym: [OE. forgiven, foryiven, foryeven, AS. forgiefan,
forgifan; perh. for- + giefan, gifan to give; cf. D. vergeven, G.
vergeben, Icel. fyrirgefa, Sw. f, Goth. fragiban to give, grant. See
For-, and Give, v. t.]
1. To give wholly; to make over without reservation; to resign.
To them that list the world's gay shows I leave, And to great ones
such folly do forgive. Spenser.
2. To give up resentment or claim to requital on account of (an
offense or wrong); to remit the penalty of; to pardon; -- said in
reference to the act forgiven.
And their sins should be forgiven them. Mark iv. 12.
He forgive injures so readily that he might be said to invite them.
Macaulay.
3. To cease to feel resentment against, on account of wrong
committed; to give up claim to requital from or retribution upon (an
offender); to absolve; to pardon; -- said of the person offending.
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke xxiii. 34.
I as free forgive you, as I would be fforgiven. Shak.
Note: Sometimes both the person and the offense follow as objects of
the verb, sometimes one and sometimes the other being the indirect
object. "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Matt. vi.
12. "Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." Matt. ix. 2.
Syn.
– See excuse.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition