forlorn hope Hear it!

forlorn hope definition

forlorn hope

  1. a group of soldiers detached from the main group for a very dangerous mission
  2. a desperate undertaking; enterprise with very little chance of success

  3. Etymology: through confusion with hope

    a faint hope

Etymology: altered < Du verloren hoop, lit., lost group < verloren, pp. of verliezen, to lose (akin to forlorn) + hoop, a band, group; akin to heap

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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