for

See also: FOR, fór, fôr, för, for-, för-, and Appendix:Variations of "for"

English

Etymology

From Middle English for, from Old English for (“for, on account of, for the sake of, through, because of, owing to, from, by reason of, as to, in order to”), from Proto-Germanic *furi (“for”), from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-. Cognate with foar (“for”), Dutch voor (“for”), German für (“for”), Danish for (“for”), Swedish för (“for”), Norwegian for (“for”), Icelandic fyrir (“for”), Latin per (“by, through, for, by means of”) and Romance language successors (e.g. Spanish para (“for”)), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “for, about, toward”), Lithuanian per (“by, through, during”), Sanskrit परि (pári, “over, around”).

Pronunciation

Conjunction

for

  1. (now uncommon) Because.
    • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23
      "By means of the Golden Cap I shall command the Winged Monkeys to carry you to the gates of the Emerald City," said Glinda, "for it would be a shame to deprive the people of so wonderful a ruler."

Translations

Preposition

for

  1. Towards.
    The astronauts headed for the moon.
  2. Directed at, intended to belong to.
    I have something for you.
  3. Supporting (opposite of against).
    All those for the motion raise your hands.
  4. Because of.
    He wouldn't apologize; and just for that, she refused to help him.
    (UK usage) He looks better for having lost weight.
    She was the worse for drink.
    • Shakespeare
      with fiery eyes sparkling for very wrath
    • 1867, Frederick Metcalfe, The Oxonian in Iceland (page 202)
      "A summerly day for you," said my host; "You ought to be here in winter. It is impossible then to get out of the doors for the snow and wind. Ugh! dreadful weather!"
  5. Over a period of time.
    I've lived here for three years.
    They fought for days over a silly pencil.
    • Garth
      To guide the sun's bright chariot for a day.
  6. Throughout an extent of space.
    • Shakespeare
      For many miles about / There's scarce a bush.
  7. On behalf of.
    I will stand in for him.
  8. Instead of, or in place of.
    • Bible, Exodus xxi. 23, 24
      And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
  9. In order to obtain or acquire.
    I am aiming for completion by the end of business Thursday.
    He's going for his doctorate.
    Do you want to go for coffee?
    People all over Greece looked to Delphi for answers.
    Can you go to the store for some eggs?
    I'm saving up for a car.
    Don't wait for an answer.
    What did he ask you for?
    • Denham
      He writes not for money, nor for praise.
  10. In the direction of: marks a point one is going toward.
    Run for the hills!
    He was headed for the door when he remembered.
    • Francis Bacon
      We sailed from Peru for China and Japan.
  11. By the standards of, usually with the implication of those standards being lower than one might otherwise expect.
    Fair for its day.
    She's spry for an old lady.
  12. Despite, in spite of.
    • 1892 August 6, Charles Dickens, "The Unbidden Guest", in All the Year Round, page 133,
      Mr. Joseph Blenkinshaw was perhaps not worth quite so much as was reported; but for all that he was a very wealthy man […]
    • 1968, J. J. Scarisbrick, Henry VIII (page 240)
      For all his faults, there had been something lofty and great about him - as a judge, as a patron of education, as a builder, as an international figure.
  13. Used to indicate the subject of a to-infinitive.
    For that to happen now is incredibly unlikely. (=It is incredibly unlikely that that will happen now.)
    All I want is for you to be happy. (=All I want is that you be happy.)
  14. (chiefly US) Out of; used to indicate a fraction, a ratio
    In term of base hits, Jones was three for four on the day
  15. (cricket) used as part of a score to indicate the number of wickets that have fallen
    At close of play, England were 305 for 3.
  16. Indicating that in the character of or as being which anything is regarded or treated; to be, or as being.
    • Cowley
      We take a falling meteor for a star.
    • John Locke
      If a man can be fully assured of anything for a truth, without having examined, what is there that he may not embrace for true?
    • Dryden
      Most of our ingenious young men take up some cry'd-up English poet for their model.
    • Philips
      But let her go for an ungrateful woman.
  17. Used to construe various verbs. See the entry for the phrasal verb.
  18. (obsolete) Indicating that in prevention of which, or through fear of which, anything is done.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      We'll have a bib, for spoiling of thy doublet.

Alternative forms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

References

  • Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "Spatial particles of orientation", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8
  • for at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • for in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

Catalan

Noun

for m (plural fors)

  1. prize, worth
  2. forum

Cornish

Noun

for

  1. Mixed mutation of mor.

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse fóðr, from Middle Low German vōder (“linen, sheath”), from Proto-Germanic *fōdrą (“sheath”).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /foːr/, [foːˀɐ̯]
  • Rhymes: -oːɐ̯

Noun

for n (singular definite foret, plural indefinite for)

  1. lining (covering for the inside of something)
  2. lining (material used for inside covering)
Inflection

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔ/, [fʌ]

Adverb

for

  1. too (more than enough; as too much)
  2. in front
  3. forward

Conjunction

for

  1. for, because

Preposition

for

  1. for
  2. of
  3. to
  4. on
  5. at
  6. before, in front of
  7. by

Etymology 3

See fare (“to rush, run”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /foːr/, [foːˀɐ̯]

Verb

for, fór or farede

  1. past tense of fare.

Esperanto

Etymology

Compare Latin forās (“outside”).

Adverb

for

  1. away, far, gone
    • 1998, Henrik Ibsen, trans. Odd Tangerud Puphejmo : Dramo en tri aktoj,
      NORA (komencas elpreni el la skatolo, sed baldaŭ forĵetas ĉion). Ho, se mi kuraĝus eliri. Se nur neniu venus. Se nur ne dume okazus io hejme. Stulta babilaĵo; neniu venos. Nur ne pensi. Brosi la mufon. Delikataj gantoj, delikataj gantoj. For el la pensoj! For, for! Unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses — (krias) Jen, tie ili venas —
      NORA (begins to unpack the box, but soon pushes it all away). Oh, if I dared go out. If only no one would come. If only I could be sure nothing would happen here in the meantime. Stupid nonsense; no one will come. Only I mustn't think about it. I will brush my muff. What lovely, lovely gloves. Out of my thoughts, Away, away! One, two, three, four, five, six— (Screams) There, someone's coming—

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Latin forum; doublet of fur and forum. Unrelated to French fort.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔʁ/

Noun

for m (plural not attested)

  1. (obsolete) Only used in for intérieur

Further reading

Galician

Etymology 1

Inflected form of ir (“to go”).

Verb

for

  1. first-person singular future subjunctive of ir
  2. third-person singular future subjunctive of ir

Etymology 2

Inflected form of ser (“to be”).

Verb

for

  1. first-person singular future subjunctive of ser
  2. third-person singular future subjunctive of ser

Icelandic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔːr/
  • Rhymes: -ɔːr

Noun

for f (genitive singular forar, nominative plural forir)

  1. mud
  2. bog

Declension

Derived terms

  • forarpittur

Ido

Etymology

Borrowing from English far (from). Compare Esperanto for.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔr/

Preposition

for

  1. far from, away from

Derived terms

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *fāōr, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”). Cognates include fama (“news; fame”), fabula (“story, tale, fable”), Ancient Greek φημί (phēmí, “speak”), φάτις (phátis, “rumour, news, speech”), φάσις (phásis, “speech, announcement”), φωνή (phōnḗ, “voice”), Old Church Slavonic баяти (bajati, “tell, narrate”) and баснь (basnĭ, “fable”) (Russian ба́ять (bájatʹ) and ба́сня (básnja)) and Old English bannan (English ban). Compare also Sanskrit भनति (bhánati, “speak”).

Pronunciation

Verb

for (present infinitive fārī, perfect active fātus sum); first conjugation, deponent

  1. I speak, talk, say.

Inflection

   Conjugation of for (first conjugation, deponent)
indicative singular plural
first second third first second third
active present for fāris, fāre fātur fāmur fāminī fantur
imperfect fābar fābāris, fābāre fābātur fābāmur fābāminī fābantur
future fābor fāberis, fābere fābitur fābimur fābiminī fābuntur
perfect fātus + present active indicative of sum
pluperfect fātus + imperfect active indicative of sum
future perfect fātus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive singular plural
first second third first second third
active present fer fēris, fēre fētur fēmur fēminī fentur
imperfect fārer fārēris, fārēre fārētur fārēmur fārēminī fārentur
perfect fātus + present active subjunctive of sum
pluperfect fātus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative singular plural
first second third first second third
active present — fāre — — fāminī —
future — fātor fātor — — fantor
non-finite forms active passive
present perfect future present perfect future
infinitives fārī, fārier1 fātus esse fātūrus esse — — —
participles fāns fātus fātūrus — — fandus
verbal nouns gerund supine
nominative genitive dative/ablative accusative accusative ablative
fārī, fārier1 fandī fandō fandum fātum fātū

1The present passive infinitive in -ier is a rare poetic form which is attested for this verb.

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  • for in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • for in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • for in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
  • Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • good Latin: sermo latinus (opp. sermo parum latinus) (cf. sect. VII. 2., note For the use of adverbs...)
    • thought and deed: consilia et facta (cf. sect. X. 1, note For 'thoughts and deeds'...)
    • (ambiguous) to translate freely: his fere verbis, hoc fere modo convertere, transferre
    • (ambiguous) synonyms: vocabula idem fere declarantia
    • (ambiguous) to talk of a subject which was then the common topic of conversation: in eum sermonem incidere, qui tum fere multis erat in ore
    • (ambiguous) as usually happens: ut fit, ita ut fit, ut fere fit
    • (ambiguous) he spoke (very much) as follows: haec (fere) dixit
    • (ambiguous) this is very much what Cicero said: haec Ciceronis fere

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfɔrː/ (unstressed)
  • IPA(key): /fɔ/ (unstressed)
  • Audio(file)

Etymology 1

Adverb

for

  1. too
    for ung ― too young
    for langt ― too far
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Conjunction

for

  1. for
Synonyms

Etymology 3

From Old Norse fóðr

Noun

for n (definite singular foret, indefinite plural for, definite plural fora or forene)

  1. alternative form of fôr
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Preposition

for

  1. for

Etymology 5

Verb

for

  1. past tense of fare.

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔrː/
  • Audio(file)

Conjunction

for

  1. for, because
    Eg joggar kvar dag, for eg vil ikkje bli feit.
    I jog every day, because I don't want to get fat.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse fóðr

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fuːr/

Noun

for n (definite singular foret, indefinite plural for, definite plural fora)

  1. alternative form of fôr
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Old Norse fyrir

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fɔrː/
  • Audio(file)

Preposition

for

  1. for
    Pass deg for snøskred!
    Look out for avalanches!
  2. of
    Eg bur sør for byen.
    I live south of the city.

Adverb

for

  1. too
    Det er for langt å gå.
    It is too far to walk.
  2. in favour of
    Eg var for å bli med i FN.
    I was in favour of joining the UN.
Derived terms

References

Novial

Adjective

for

  1. away

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *fura

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfor/

Preposition

for

  1. for
Descendants

Etymology 2

see faran

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfoːr/

Verb

fōr

  1. first-person singular preterite of faran
  2. third-person singular preterite of faran

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *fōrō (“trip; wagon”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfoːr/

Noun

fōr f (nominative plural fōra)

  1. journey, going, course, expedition, approach; passage, lifestyle, way of life
Declension

Etymology 4

From Proto-Germanic *farhaz (“pig”). Cognate with Middle Low German vōr (“lean young pig”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfoːr/

Noun

fōr m

  1. hog, pig
Declension

Old Irish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *sweseros, from *swīs (“you (pl.)”); compare Latin vester.

Determiner

for

  1. your (plural)
  2. you (plural; as the object of a preposition that takes the genitive)
    • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 16d8
      Bíuu-sa oc irbáig dar far cenn-si fri Maccidóndu.
      I am boasting about you to the Macedonians.

Synonyms

  • sethar

Descendants

  • Irish: bhur
  • Scottish Gaelic: ur

Old Saxon

Noun

for

  1. Alternative form of fora

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Verb

for

  1. first-person singular (eu) future subjunctive of ir
  2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) future subjunctive of ir
    Quando for, avise-me.
    When she goes, let me know.
  3. first-person singular (eu) future subjunctive of ser
  4. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) future subjunctive of ser
    Enquanto ela for viva, merece todo o nosso respeito.
    As long as she is alive, she deserves all our respect.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English for.

Pronunciation

  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈfɔʁ/, /ˈfɔɹ/

Noun

for m (plural fors)

  1. (programming) for loop (a loop that uses a counter)

Swedish

Verb

for

  1. past tense of fara.

Walloon

Noun

for m (plural fors)

  1. oven
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