forlorn

Definitions

1. 1.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.
2. 2.A lost, forsaken, or solitary person. Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. Shak.
3. 3.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 (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

• What does "forlorn" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is forlorn.

• What is a lost, forsaken, or solitary person. Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn. Shak called?
• What is a forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obs.] Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy. Oliver Cromvell called?