forbyde

Forbyde is an archaic English verb meaning to prohibit or forbid. It is a historical spelling of the verb to forbid and is found in Middle English and Early Modern English texts. The form reflects orthographic variation typical of the period before standardized spelling and appears in surviving manuscripts alongside other spellings of the same verb. In modern English the corresponding verb is forbid, with the related forms forbade (past tense) and forbidden (past participle).

Etymology and cognates: forbyde derives from the Old English verb forbodian, meaning to prohibit. It belongs to the same West Germanic linguistic family as the modern verb forbid, and its usage illustrates how spelling and pronunciation shifted as English evolved toward standardization.

Usage and context: forbyde occurs primarily in religious, legal, or moral prose from the medieval and early modern eras, and can appear in both imperative and declarative clauses. In historical texts, it often carries a formal or ceremonial tone, reflecting commands, prohibitions, or admonitions the author wished to express with authority. The form declined as English spelling standardized and the modern form forbid became dominant.

See also: forbid, forbade, forbidden. In modern reference works, forbyde is typically described as an obsolete or historical variant rather than a current usage.