Forlorn
Forlorn , adjective
[Old English, past participle of forlesen to lose utterly, Anglo-Saxon forleósan (p. p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; compare Dutch verliezen to lose, German verlieren, Swedish forlora, Danish forloren, Gothic fraliusan to lose. See For-, and Lorn, a., Lose, transitive verb]
1.
Deserted; abandoned; lost.
Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn.
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children.
2.
Destitute; helpless; in pitiful plight; wretched; miserable; almost hopeless; desperate.
For here forlorn and lost I tread.
The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme.
She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living.
Collocations (1)
A forlorn hope (Military) , 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.
Forlorn , noun
1.
A lost, forsaken, or solitary person.
Forced to live in Scotland a forlorn.
2.
A forlorn hope; a vanguard. [Obsolete]
Our forlorn of horse marched within a mile of the enemy.