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1. a perilous or desperate enterprise.2. a vain hope.3. Obs. a group of soldiers assigned to perform some unusually dangerous service.[1530-40; folk-etymological alter. of D verloren hoop lit., lost troop]
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Universalium. 2010.
forlorn hope
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Forlorn hope — is a military term that comes from the Dutch verloren hoop , literally lost heap , and adapted as lost troop . [ Oxford English Dictionary : forlorn hope] [cite book last = Kilian first = Cornelius authorlink = :nl:Cornelius Kiliaan coauthors =… … Wikipedia
Forlorn Hope — ist ein militärischer Begriff, der sich aus dem niederländischen Begriff „verloren hoop“ ableitet, nicht aus dem Englischen. Gemeint ist damit der sogenannte „verlorene Haufen“, was im weiteren, ins Englische übertragenen Sinne „lost heap“… … Deutsch Wikipedia
forlorn hope — n. [altered < Du verloren hoop, lit., lost group < verloren, pp. of verliezen, to lose (akin to FORLORN) + hoop, a band, group; akin to HEAP] 1. a group of soldiers detached from the main group for a very dangerous mission 2. a desperate… … English World dictionary
forlorn hope — ► forlorn hope a persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled. [ORIGIN: from Dutch verloren hoop lost troop , originally denoting a band of soldiers picked to begin an attack, many of whom would not survive.] Main Entry: ↑forlorn … English terms dictionary
forlorn hope — now means only ‘a faint hope, an enterprise which has little hope of success’, but its form has nothing to do with the English word hope. It was a 16c adaptation of Dutch verloren hoop, literally meaning ‘lost troop’, and in English originally… … Modern English usage
forlorn hope — forlorn′ hope′ n. 1) a perilous or desperate enterprise 2) a vain hope 3) Obs. a group of soldiers assigned to perform some unusually dangerous service • Etymology: 1530–40 … From formal English to slang
forlorn hope — index pessimism Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
forlorn hope — noun /fəˌlɔːnˈhəʊp/ a) A small troop picked to make an advance attack, or the first attack; a storming party. Arnold, therefore, as usual with him, led the forlorn hope, marching about one hundred yards before the main body. b) Any dangerous or… … Wiktionary
forlorn hope — a persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled. [C16: from Du. verloren hoop lost troop , orig. denoting a band of soldiers picked to begin an attack, many of whom would not survive.] → forlorn … English new terms dictionary
Forlorn Hope — ♦ Assault or storming party with little hope of success, or if successful, little hope of survival. (Wise, Terence. Medieval Warfare, 248) … Medieval glossary
