Middle English

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Etymology

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forgreithen +‎ -ing.

Noun

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fōrgreithing (uncountable)

  1. An act of making ready; preparation.
    • c. 1400, Northern Verse Psalter (Surtees Psalter) [British Library, Cotton Vespasian D.7 manuscript]; published in Joseph Stevenson, editor, Anglo-Saxon and Early English Psalter: Now First Printed from Manuscripts in the British Museum, volume I, London: J. B. Nichols and Son, Parliament Street; William Pickering, Piccadilly; Edinburgh: Laing and Forbes, 1843, OCLC 832497574:
      Psalm 9:38 [now 10:17], page 27: Yernyng of pouer herd Laverd mine; / For-grayþynge of þair hert herd ere þine.
      The Lord hath heard the desire of poor men; thine ear hath heard the making ready of their heart. [Wycliffe's Bible; meaning "The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor; yea, thy ears have heard the desires of their hearts."]
      Psalm 88:15 [now 89:14], page 59: Rightwisenes and dome als-swa, / for-graiþinge of þi sete ere þa; / Milthe and sothness sal for-gan / þi face: []
      rightfulness and doom is the making ready of thy seat. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face; [] [Wycliffe's Bible; meaning "Righteousness and judgement be the foundations of thy throne; love and faithfulness go forth before thee."]

Alternative forms

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References

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