'forgo' originates from Old English, specifically the word 'forgān', where the prefix 'for-' meant 'away' and 'gān' meant 'to go'.

'forgān' in Old English (meaning 'to go away' or 'pass by') changed through Middle English forms such as 'forgo' and eventually became the modern English verb 'forgo'.

Initially it meant 'to go away, pass by', but over time it evolved into its current common meanings of 'to give up' or 'to do without'.