FORLORN', adjective 1. Deserted; destitute; stripped or deprived; forsaken. Hence, lost; helpless; wretched; solitary. Of fortune and of hope at once forlorn To live again in these wild woods forlorn For here forlorn and lost I tread. 2. Taken away. obsolete When as night hath us of light forlorn 3. Small; despicable; in a ludicrous sense. FORLORN hope, properly, a desperate case; hence in military affairs, a detachment of men appointed to lead in an assault, to storm a counterscarp, enter a breach, or perform other service attended with uncommon peril. FORLORN', noun A lost, forsaken, solitary person.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI