Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
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.

FORFECHT, v., refl., also tr. To exhaust, wear oneself out. Rare.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxx.:
Fat needs fowk forfecht themsells fan they hae plenty?Ags. 1894 A. Reid Songs 59:
He dings me oot o' couplets meet, An' sair forfechts me wi' his sang.

The word, however, is regularly found only in ppl.adj.: forfochten; also forfo(u)ch(t)en, -in, -an, -foochen, -fuchan; -faichen, -fachten; -feuchen, -an (mostly s.Sc.); -fough(t)en, -on, -faugh(t)en, -foghan; -focken; variants with fer-, fur-, and fore-; -fo(u)cht, for(e)fought (mostly ne.Sc.), -feucht (Sc. 1849 A. Bell Melodies Scot. 4), and irreg. form ferfaughaned (Uls. 1931 Northern Whig (11 Dec.)). For forms cf. Fecht, v., A.

‡1. Exhausted with fighting, fought to a standstill; 2. Hence in gen., played out with any kind of effort, extremely fatigued; sorely harassed; puffed. Gen.Sc. (forfochen Bnff., Abd., Ags., Edb., Ayr., Dmf. 2000s). [Sc. fər′foxən, ′fɔx-, -′fǫx-, occas. -tən, ne.Sc. + -′fɔxt, s.Sc. -′fjux(^ʍ)ən]1. Lnk. c.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 16:
They stood a' round about like as many breathless forfoughen cocks.Sc. 1784 Hobie Noble in Child Ballads No. 189. xxviii.:
I'm but like a forfoughen hound, Has been fighting in a dirty syke.Ayr. 1787 Burns Letters (ed. Ferguson) No. 112:
I'm sitten down here, after seven and forty miles ridin', e'en as forjesket and forniaw'd as a forfoughten cock.Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 167:
Till F[ox] for-foughen, quat the field, An' peghin', low did wear his shield.Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxviii.:
This good little gentleman, that seems sair forfoughen, as I may say, in this tuilzie.Slk. 1835 Hogg Mary Montgomery (1874) 594:
I was sair woundit an' forefoughten.Rxb. 1901 W. Laidlaw Poetry and Prose 63:
The Veitches, though forfouchen sore, And sev'ral wounded in the fray.Wgt. 1912 A.O.W.B. Fables 27:
An', while they focht, he bore the prey awa'. Baith Tods, forfouchen, gree'd to tak a share.Sc. 1923 R. A. Taylor Fiammetta 76:
For quhat, ye, sair forfoucht and leal, Sic arles o' bluid wad pay?2. Abd. 1754 R. Forbes Jnl. from London 27:
I hae been sae eident writin journals that I hae been quite forfoughen wi' them.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems (1925) 48:
My friend, thir hunder years and mair, We've been forfoughen late and air.Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Tales 98:
Till sair for-fought wi' grief and pinin', She finds a nest ayont your kennin'.Sc. 1823 Wilson Marg. Lyndsay xxxi.:
Aiblins I might be oure sair forefeuchan wi' the seven year auld lying lea.wm.Sc. 1827 T. Hamilton Cyril Thornton (1848) vi.:
It's nine hours since a morsel has passed my thrapple, and I'm sair forfachten for want o' something.Bnff. 1856 J. Collie Poems 72:
I trow he was a jovial blade, But sair forefought was he, O.Abd. 1863 G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod x.:
Gin ye tyauve at it aboon yer strenth, ye'll be clean forfochten.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 131:
We . . . arrived forfochen, spent, and drookit to the skin.Kcb. 1893 Crockett Stickit Minister 136:
I'm sair forfoughten wi' the wun.Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 16:
Whan yince A'd gotten ti the top o the rig, an — forfeuchen a weilock — hed hoakkert doon on ti ma hunkers till A gethert back ma braith.Abd. 1940 C. Gavin Hostile Shore vii.:
Sax mile o' traivellin' on top o' sic a day! Ye must be fair forfochen — tired oot, I ocht to say.m.Sc. 1985 William J. Rae in Joy Hendry Chapman 40 18:
He wis an auld eagle, and he wis pechin and forfochen wi the trauchle o flicht. Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 27:
Aince mair
my thochts'll dwall on the trooshlach o Scotland
and hoo it maun bide sae forfochten an' bare. m.Sc. 1991 Tom Scott in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 40:
Bylins the rush wes owre, and Moby Dick
Surfaced, forfochen, lowdert, seik wi pain, m.Lth. 1992:
I'm fair forfochen wi aw this ironing. m.Sc. 1996 John Murray Aspen 13:
In this unennin flit
atween bieldless places,
in this ennless rammy
o ferfochen faces,
a knotless threid
like a fushonless fantasie
cannae thegither onythin jyne. Edb. 1996:
Ah'm forfeuchen efter bein up aw nicht wi the bairn. m.Sc. 1997 Tom Watson Dark Whistle 54:
Ahint his een
Glowers great stramash, oor sair
Forfochten warld.