The beasts their caves, the birds their nests forlore.
Fairfax.
For*lorn" (?), a. [OE., p. p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS.
forleÛsan (p. p. forloren); pref. for- + leÛsan (in comp.) to lose; cf.
D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. fˆrlora, Dan. forloren, Goth.
fraliusan to lose. See For-, and Lorn, a., Lose, v. t.] 1. Deserted;
abandoned; lost.
Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn.
Spenser.
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
Shak.
2. 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 [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. verlornen 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.
Syn. -- Destitute, lost; abandoned; forsaken; solitary; helpless;
friendless; hopeless; abject; wretched; miserable; pitiable.
For*lorn", n. 1. A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn.
Shak.