forge1
/fɔːdʒ
/verb [with object]
1Make or shape (a metal object) by heating it in a fire or furnace and hammering it: he forged a great suit of black armour...
- For a dark blade such as this, the metal is forged in a magical fire of burning ice.
- Tight faceting suggests plumage, but those feathers could be forged of sheet metal.
- While many of his peers buy their Damascus steel from artisans, Kirk forges his own and shapes it to perfection.
Synonyms
hammer out, beat into shape, found, cast, mould, model;
fashion, form, shape, make, manufacture, produce, turn out
informal knock together, knock up, knock off
2Create (something) strong, enduring, or successful: the two women forged a close bond the country is forging a bright new future...
- These and other factors have helped forge a strong and enduring bond of good will and friendship between our two countries.
- The successful practices have forged a close working relationship between Public Works, Police, Fire, and Health Departments.
- Yorkshire players past and present are expected to forge much stronger links together if the seal of approval is given to the formation of the club's first Players' Association.
Synonyms
build, build up, construct, form, create, establish, set up, put together
3Produce a fraudulent copy or imitation of (a document, signature, banknote, or work of art): the signature on the cheque was forged...
- The plaintiff could easily have forged her partner's signature to it.
- The signatures were forged by the defendant, who also signed the documents as having witnessed the signatures.
- An action had been brought by the second company against a bank, alleging that the wife had forged the husband's signature on cheques.
Synonyms
fake, falsify, counterfeit, copy fraudulently, copy, imitate, reproduce, replicate, simulate
informal pirate
fake, faked, false, counterfeit, imitation, reproduction, replica, copied;
sham, bogus, dummy, ersatz, invalid
informal phoney, dud, pretend, crooked
noun
1A blacksmith’s workshop; a smithy.Culm was the material most widely used in the forges by blacksmiths and large quantities of the sub-stance were imported from England and Wales for that purpose....
- The forge was occupied by blacksmith Richard Tarrant when it was painted.
- Eusebio pointed with pride to its church and rectory, carpenter shop, blacksmith forge, and water mill.
1.1A furnace for melting or refining metal.The forger then seized the blank in a pair of tongs and reheated it in his forge or furnace to as high a temperature as the metal could stand without burning up....
- But to build it you need new forges, new metals and tools and the time to learn to use them properly.
- He made his mirrors from speculum metal - four parts copper to one part tin - but had to construct a forge to melt the speculum and cast the disc from which the mirror could be ground.
1.2A workshop or factory containing a furnace for melting metal.Paper factories, glass factories, tanneries, forges, and other such establishments, which sold principally to local and national markets, had a far from negligible output....
- Primarily an agrarian community the town was also home to a brass foundry, an iron forge, a wire-drawing mill, and a community of cabinetmakers.
- Their society worshipped metal, and some of the best gear in existence came from the Ele system's massive forges and factories.
Derivatives
forgeable
- Even the most biometrically sophisticated of modern ID documents will be potentially forgeable for those with a strong incentive to do so.
- But in order to give an outsider access, that outsider must be trusted, verified - and basically, certified, signing in with a digital certificate that is not feasibly forgeable.
- This is something that's easily forgeable - I've no idea how they'll be validating that the people who have countersigned actually exist, but I can't see that it'll be comprehensive.
Origin
Middle English (also in the general sense 'make, construct'): from Old French forger, from Latin fabricare 'fabricate', from fabrica 'manufactured object, workshop'. The noun is via Old French from Latin fabrica.
In early use, to forge meant not only to work metal but also had the general sense ‘make, construct’. The word comes from Latin fabricare ‘to fabricate’, from fabrica ‘manufactured object, workshop’ source of fabric. The sense ‘make a fraudulent imitation’ arose early in the word's history. Forge as in forge ahead is a different word. It was first used of ships and may be a variant of force (Middle English) which comes from Latin fortis ‘strong’, source also of fort (Late Middle English).
Rhymes
forge2
/fɔːdʒ/verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
Move forward gradually or steadily: he forged through the crowded streets...
- Nonetheless, I forged steadily forwards and was pleased to see the white and greenish-grey layers of ancient sandstone and shale getting closer.
- The ship was forging forward, but at the table I felt myself pulled back to her smell and her skin and her sound; the ship sailed one way; I sailed another.
- You have to forge along, carefully treading a new way, trusting that your sense of direction has you going toward the right destination.
Synonyms
advance steadily, advance gradually, press on, push on, soldier on, march on, push forward, move forward, move along, proceed, progress, make progress/headway
Phrasal verbs
forge ahead
Origin
Mid 18th century: perhaps an aberrant pronunciation of force1.