Forego vs. forgo

[A18]

Option 2.

The canonical forgo/forego distinction, as pronounced by the Old Guard, seems to me to have little historical basis, but it is a useful one to have. Since no awkwardness is entailed, I have chosen to follow it.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Option 1 (old)

[Sensei]

I've never even see "forgo".

[paul718]

I've never used the term, but I think I would instinctively spell it as "forego".

[A18]

I've never even see [sic] "forgo".

http://books.google.com/books?as_brr=0&q=%22to+forgo+*%22

[Associate Justice PiT]

I've never even see "forgo".

     Me neither. I've always spelled it as "forego".

[muon2]

My instinct was to use forgo, so I looked it up in my Webster's Deluxe Unabridged Dictionary (1979). They make a clear distinction between forgo and forego. Forgo comes from the Middle English forgon, and follows the same pattern as the words forget and forgive. Their definition is "to do without; abstain from; give up," and they list a second meaning as "to go past; to overlook; to neglect." The prefix for- means away.

Forego is based on the prefix fore- meaning before. The definition given in my source is "to go before in time, place or degree; to precede." This meaning gives rise to the word foregone, and is similar in form to forecast and foresee. There is second meaning which tells a lot, "to forgo; to do without." So at least back in my olden days, usage recognized that some people used forego when they meant forgo. The priority of definitions makes it clear that forgo would be preferred.

BTW as I type this, the automatic spellchecker in the forum's dialog box, complians about forego, but not forgo.