[f. FORGE v. + -ER1.] One who forges, in senses of the vb.
1. A maker or framer (of something material or immaterial); an author or creator. Now only in bad sense, a fabricator, inventor (of false stories, etc.).
c. 1380. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. II. 19. Joseph was a forgere of trees, þat is to seie a wriȝte. Ibid. (1382), Job xiii. 4. Rathere shewende ȝou forgeris of lesingus, and herieris of shreude techingis. Ibid., Eccl. xi. 5. God, that is forgere of alle thingus.
a. 1541. Wyatt, Poet. Wks. (1861), 81.
| Consumeth my life, faileth my breath, | |
| Your fault is forger of this note; | |
| Melting in tears a cruel death. | |
| I die! I die! and you regard it not. |
1563. Winȝet, trans. Vincent. Lirin., Ded. Wks. (1887–8), II. 5. Al forgearis and manteaneris of schisme and errour.
1609. Bible (Douay), Deut. xiii. 5. And that Prophet or forger of dreames shal be slaine: because he spake that he might auert you from the Lord your God.
1747. G. West, Resurrection, 347. No Forger of Lyes willingly and wittingly furnishes out the Means of his own Detection.
1805. Wordsw., Prelude, V. 523.
| Ye dreamers, then, | |
| Forgers of daring tales! we bless you then, | |
| Imposters, drivellers, dotards, as the ape | |
| Philosophy will call you. |
2. One who forges (metal) or works at a forge; a smith; † a coiner (of money); also, an owner of forges or rolling mills.
1381. Wyclif, Bible, Pref. Ep. vi. 67. Lechis bihoten that that is of lechis, forgers treten forgeable thingis.
1424. Paston, Lett., No. 4, I. 13. The forgeers and makers of the seyd billes imagyned to the seyd William, hese clerkes and servauntes, more malice and harm than in the seyd billes was expressed.
1474. Caxton, Chesse, III. ii. E vj b. Forgers and makers of money. Ibid. (1491), Vitas Patr. (W. de W., 1495), 19. Saynt Appellen was a forgeur of yren.
a. 1605. Montgomery, Misc. Poems, xlii. 13.
| Bot, as the forger, vhen he feeds his fyre, | |
| With sparks of water maks it burne more bald; | |
| So, sueet denyall doubillis bot desyr, | |
| And quickins curage fra becomming cald. |
a. 1679. T. Goodwin, Justif. Faith, I. vi. Wks. (1697), IV. 29. Thus God is the immediate Forger of every Linke of that golden Chain.
1827. Hone, Every-day Bk., II. 879. When the interior of the blacksmith’s shop looks awful, and we expect the foaming porter pot to hiss, as the brawny forger dips his fiery nose into it.
1858. Greener, Gunnery, 91. Great credit is, however, due to the enterprise and energy displayed by the inventors, forgers, and finishers of this great gun.
1884. Manch. Exam., 13 Sept., 4/7. A file forger.
1891. Daily News, 26 Oct., 2/6. Forgers say that they could do much more work if it was forthcoming.
3. One who makes fraudulent imitations (of documents, coins, etc.); a counterfeiter.
1552. Huloet, Forger of dedes or wrytynges, falsarius subiector.
1565–73. Cooper, Thesaurus, Adulterator monetæ … a forgier or false coynar of mony.
a. 1680. Butler, Sat. Plagiaries, 12 Rem. 1749, I. 168.
| Mark them with characters and brands, | |
| Like other forgers of men’s hands, | |
| And in effigy hang and draw | |
| The poor delinquents by club-law. |
1765. Chron., in Ann. Reg., 58/2. The forger, and three others of the capital offender, suffered the middle of February following.
1790. Paley, Horæ Paul., Rom. i. 11. The forger of the Epistle to the Romans inserted in it the passage upon which our observations are founded, for the purpose of giving colour to his forgery by the appearance of conformity with other writings which were then extant.
1791. Burke, Lett. Member Nat. Assembly, Wks. VI. 18. We have in London very respectable persons of the Jewish nation, whom we will keep; but we have of the same tribe others of a very different description,—housebreakers, and receivers of stolen goods, and forgers of paper currency, more than we can conveniently hang.
1859. Dickens, T. Two Cities, II. i. Death is Nature’s remedy for all things, and why not Legislation’s? Accordingly, the forger was put to Death.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), V. 22, Laws, Introduction. Whether we can attribute the worst parts of a work to a forger and the best to a great writer,—as for example, in the case of some of Shakespeare’s works,—depends upon the probability that they have been interpolated, or have been the joint work of two writers; and this can only be established by a comparison of other writings of the same class.
