Forms: 5–6 fourage (6 fourr-), 5–8 forrage, 6–7 forradge, 4– forage. [a. F. fourrage, f. OF. feurre fodder:—Com. Rom. *fodro, of Teut. origin: see FODDER and -AGE.]
1. Food for horses and cattle; fodder, provender; in early use esp. dry winter food, as opposed to grass. Now chiefly provender for horses in an army.
c. 1315. Shoreham, 122.
| The oxe and asse in hare manyour, | |
| Tho that hy seȝen hare creature [ = Creator] | |
| Lyggynde ine hare forage. |
c. 1386. Chaucer, Reeve’s Prol., 13.
| But ik am old, me list not pley for age; | |
| Gras-tyme is doon, my fodder is now forage. |
c. 1430. Lydg., Min. Poems (Percy Soc.), 177.
| No comparisoun twen good greyn and forage; | |
| Preise every thyng like to his degre; | |
| And lyke the audience so uttir thy language. |
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. xviii. 8 b/2. They had nother ootes nor forage for them [horses].
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, I. xxxviii. 56. Spurry is good fourage or fodder for Oxen and kyen.
1610. Markham, Masterp., I. xciii. 182. Next vnto grasse is forrage, which is onely the blades of greene corne, as wheat, rye, barley, and such like.
1683. Lond. Gaz., No. 1868/3. The Cavalry made hard shift to get Forage, many Horses dying for want thereof.
1720. De Foe, Capt. Singleton, vi. 106. A herb like a broad flat thistle supplied the buffaloes for drink as well as forage.
1770. Junius Lett., xxxvi. 175, note. This gentleman, who, a very few years ago, was contractor for forage, and afterwards exalted to a petty post in the war-office.
1865. Carlyle, Fredk. Gt., VII. XVIII. viii. 254. Our Inns were now almost quite exhausted of forage in corn or hay.
b.transf. and fig.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., IV. 232.
| Some [Bees] o’re the publick Magazines preside, | |
| And some are sent new Forage to provide. |
1767. Fawkes, Horace’s Sat., II. vi.
| A good plain Mouse our Host, who lov’d to spare | |
| Those Heaps of Forage he had glean’d with Care. |
1792. Mad. D’Arblay, Lett., 2 Oct. Sarah, is living upon French politics and with French fugitives at Bradfield, where she seems perfectly satisfied with foreign forage.
1836. Johnsoniana, I. 86. To study manners however only in coffee-houses, is more than equally imperfect; the minds of men who acquire no solid learning, and only exist on the daily forage they pick up by running about, and snatching what drops from their neighbours as ignorant as themselves, will never ferment into any knowledge valuable or durable; but like the light wines we drink in hot countries, please for the moment though incapable of keeping.
2. The action of foraging or providing forage; hence, a roving search for provisions of any kind; sometimes, a raid for ravaging the ground from which the enemy draws his supplies. † In forage: in search of forage.
1481. Caxton, Godfrey, xxxviii. 76. The Captayns of som bataylle were were ordeyned for to lede the peple in fourage.
c. 1500. Melusine, lix. 351. Sayeng that they were frendes and that they had be all that nyght in fourrage.
1613. Purchas, Pilgrimage, VI. vi. 492. And thence made forrages into the Countrey (the custome of Borderers) and were called therefore Robbers.
1777. W. Dalrymple, Trav. Sp. & Port., iv. Whilst my servant took care of the cavalry, I went upon the forage to get something to eat; for nothing but straw was to be had at the Posada.
a. 1873. Lytton, Pausanias, 51. My own brother, who at Mycale slew four Persians with his own hand, headed a detachment for forage.
† b. transf. A raging or ravening. Obs.
1588. Shaks., Loves Labour’s Lost, IV. i. 93.
| Thus dost thou heare the Nemean Lion roare, | |
| Gainst thee thou Lambe, that standeth as his pray: | |
| Submissiue fall his princely feete before, | |
| And he from forrage will incline to play. |
1667. Waterhouse, Fire Lond., 91. That Dread and pavid manlessness, that seised the Inhabitants, by reason of which, they not only fled before the Fire, leaving it to its forradge, and not checquing it while dealeable with, nor anticipating its Progress by pulling down or blowing up buildings before it.
† 3. In pl. Foragers. Obs.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froiss., I. xlix. 70. Their forages rode forthe, but they met nat, bycause the ryuer was euer bytwene them.
1603. Knolles, Hist. Turks, 18. Bohemund in the meane time going to Arethusa, a towne not far off, by good fortune cut off a great part of the Turks there in garrison: who after their vsual manner sallying out to haue cut off the forrages of the Christians were now themselues caught tardie: whereby the countrey for a time was more open for the distressed Christian souldiers to seek abroad for reliefe.
4. attrib. and Comb., attributive as forage-crop, -plant, -store; also forage-boat, a boat used for conveying forage; forage-cap (see quot. 1876); forage-guard, a guard detailed to cover a foraging party; † forage-master, an officer who attended to the forage, etc., of an army.
1848. Blackw. Mag., LXIV. Aug., 210/1. His subsequent visits to his intended by means of the *forage-boat.
1844. Regul. & Ord. Army, 157. The *Forage Caps of the Non-commissioned Officers and Men of Regiments serving in the East and West Indies, and in the Mediterranean, are to be provided with peaks.
1876. Voyle, A Military Dictionary (ed. 3), 143/1. Forage Cap—The undress cap worn by infantry soldiers and known as the Glengarry forage cap. When not in use, it is secured under the straps of the soldier’s pack.
1875. in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9), I. 370/2. Herbage and *forage crops.
1819. Rees, Cycl., *Forrage-guard, in Military Affairs, a detachment sent out to secure the foragers.
1579. Digges, Stratiot., 109. He ought also to assigne a sufficient number of Horse to attend on the *Forrage master, to garde and defend the Forragers.
1823. Crabb, Technol. Dict., s.v. Forage, Forage-Master-General, formerly an officer under the marshal, who saw to the forage for the army, which duty is now performed by the Quarter-Master-General.
1831. Loudon, Encycl. Agric., Gloss. (ed. 2), 1244/1. Herbage plants, *forage plants, such as clover and other plants cultivated chiefly for the herb, to be used either green or made into hay.
1868. Regul. & Ord. Army, ¶ 584. Sentries over *forage stores.
