The Etymology of Forfeit
Forfeit walks an interesting semantic path from crime to consequence. The Old French verb forfaire was a compound — Latin foris (outside, out of doors) plus facere (to do, to make) — meaning literally to do outside, to act beyond the limits, that is, to transgress or commit a crime. The past participle forfait functioned as a noun meaning a crime or transgression. When English borrowed the word around 1300, it kept the noun forfeit but shifted the meaning sideways: a forfeit became not the crime itself but the penalty paid for it — typically the loss of property, money, or right that resulted from the wrongdoing. From there the verb to forfeit emerged, and broadened to cover any loss imposed as a penalty: forfeit a deposit, forfeit one’s liberty, forfeit a match by failing to appear. Modern French keeps forfait in two distinct senses: a serious crime (rare, archaic) and a flat-rate contract or all-inclusive fee (common, commercial). The Latin foris (outside) is the same root in foreign and forensic.