FORLORN

forlorn

(adjective) marked by or showing hopelessness; “the last forlorn attempt”; “a forlorn cause”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

forlorn (comparative forlorner or more forlorn, superlative forlornest or most forlorn)

Abandoned, deserted, left behind.

Miserable, as when lonely after being abandoned.

Synonym: forsaken

Unlikely to succeed; hopeless.

Noun

forlorn (plural forlorns) (military)

A forlorn hope.

A member of a forlorn hope.

Verb

forlorn

(obsolete) past participle of forlese.

Source: Wiktionary

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For*lorn", a. Etym: [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, a., Lose, v. t.]

1. Deserted abandoned; lost. Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn. Spenser. Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. Shak.

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. A forlorn hope Etym: [D. verloren hoop, prop., a lost band or troop; verloren, p.p. of verliezen to lose + hoop band; akin to E. heap. See For-, and Heap.] (Mil.), a body of men (called in F. enfants perdus, in G. verloren posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case or enterprise.

Syn.

– Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary; helpless; friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable; pitiable.

For*lorn", n.

1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person. Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. Shak.

2. A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.] Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy. Oliver Cromvell.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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