foreganger

From Middle English forganger, forgangere, from Old English *foregangere, from foregangan (“to go before, precede, go in front of, project, excel”), equivalent to fore- +‎ ganger. Cognate with Scots foregangare (“a foregoer”), Dutch voorganger (“a predecessor, progenitor”), German Vorgänger (“a predecessor, precursor”), Swedish föregångare (“a forerunner, precursor, progenitor”).

foreganger (plural foregangers)

1. (archaic, rare) One who or that which goes before; a forerunner; a harbinger; a predecessor.
2. (nautical) A short rope grafted on a harpoon, to which a longer line may be attached.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Totten to this entry?)

• foreganger in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.