Etymology

From fors (“chance”) + sit (“be”, subjunctive) + an (“whether”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔr.sɪ.tan]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#FORSITANCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#FORSITAN
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfɔr.si.tan]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#FORSITANCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#FORSITAN

Adverb

forsitan (not comparable)Category:Latin lemmas#FORSITANCategory:Latin adverbs#FORSITANCategory:Latin uncomparable adverbs#FORSITANCategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#FORSITANCategory:Pages with entries#FORSITANCategory:Pages with 1 entry#FORSITAN

1. perhaps, perchance, maybe

   Synonyms: forsan, forsit, fortāsse, fortāssis, forte

   • c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Tobiae.3.19:

     et aut ego indigna fui illis aut illi mihi forsitan digni non fuerunt quia forsitan viro alio conservasti me

     And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man,

     Category:Latin terms with quotations#FORSITAN

References

• “forsitan”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “forsitan”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “forsitan”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, 1st edition. (Oxford University Press)