forgive

Alteration (due to give) of Middle English foryiven, forȝiven, from Old English forġiefan (“to forgive, to give”), from Proto-West Germanic *frageban, from Proto-Germanic *fragebaną (“to give away; give up; release; forgive”), equivalent to for- +‎ give (etymologically for- + yive). Cognate with Scots forgeve, forgif, forgie (“to forgive”), West Frisian ferjaan (“to forgive”), Dutch vergeven (“to forgive”), German vergeben (“to forgive”), Icelandic fyrirgefa (“to forgive”), Yiddish פֿאַרגעבן (fargebn, “to forgive”)

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: fər-gĭv', fôr-gĭv', IPA^(key): /fə(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/, /fɔː(ɹ)ˈɡɪv/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɚˈɡɪv/

• Audio (California):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪv

forgive (third-person singular simple present forgives, present participle forgiving, simple past forgave, past participle forgiven)

1. (transitive) To pardon (someone); to waive any negative feeling towards or desire for punishment or retribution against.

   Please forgive me if my phone goes off - I'm expecting an urgent call from my boss.

   Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.

2. (transitive) To pardon for (something); to waive any negative feeling over or retribution for.

   Forgive us our trespasses.

   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Prologue”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:

     Forgive these wild and wandering cries,
     ⁠Confusions of a wasted youth;
     ⁠Forgive them where they fail in truth,
     And in thy wisdom make me wise.

3. (transitive) To waive or remit (a debt), to absolve from payment or compensation of.

   Forgive a debt, that is, tell a debtor that a repayment of a loan is no longer needed.

   • 2021 February 23, Jeanne Sahadi, “So you got a PPP loan? Here’s what that means for your state taxes”, in CNN Business‎^[1]:

     In several months you’re likely to have a clearer picture on how your state intends to treat your forgiven PPP loan and the deductibility of your business expenses not just for tax year 2020 but also tax year 2021.

4. (intransitive) To accord forgiveness.
   • a. 1768, Laurence Sterne, Joseph's History considered; - Forgiveness of Injuries (sermon)

     The brave know only how to forgive […] A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.

5. (transitive) To look past; to look beyond.

   The music critic loves the instrumentation of the song so much that he can forgive the confusing lyrics.

6. (transitive) To redeem; to offset the bad effects of something.
   • 2015, Todd in the Shadows, The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2014:

     Okay, a good hook forgives everything.

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “forgive”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “forgive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.