The Etymology of Forage
Forage and fodder are long-lost siblings. Both descend from Germanic *fōdar ('food'), but they took different routes into English. Fodder came straight through Old English; forage went via Frankish into Old French as fourrage before returning to English in the 14th century. The word arrived as a military and agricultural noun meaning provisions for horses, but the verb sense — to search widely for food — gradually became dominant. Today, foraging has undergone a cultural revival: what was once a survival skill or military necessity is now a culinary movement, with chefs searching hedgerows for wild garlic and elderflower. The word's journey from animal feed to military provisioning to wild food gathering mirrors shifting attitudes toward the land.