Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1818, 1926, 1988-1998
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¶FOREKEN, v. To know beforehand, to foreknow. Also ppl.adj.Rnf. 1818 Visitor II. 244:
For deils and spirits human things foreken.Sc.(E) 1926 “H. M'Diarmid” Drunk Man 10:
I hae forekent ye! O I hae forekent. The years forecast your face afore they went.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 95:
The first dairk
wis dairk o storm.
We had forekent it
by the heat - mair than waarm,
yon smoorin wye. Lnk. 1998 Duncan Glen Selected New Poems 39:
In this amethyst
are implantit the ages of nicht
and a forekent intelligence of licht
explodes the sadness.
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"Foreken v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/foreken>
