No Matter How You Say It: Forgiveness
Word Origin
Forgive comes from the Old English forgiefan. It was a compound word combining the prefix meaning “up” or “away” with the word meaning “to give”. Can you see how forgive is giving up a claim against someone?
Sign Language
Check out the following links from www.handspeak.com for the American Sign Language interpretation of the words
Can you see how forgiveness brushes away a hurt? For bitter, there are two signs. One for bitter as in taste and the other is resentment. The taste is one jab at your chin. Resentment is multiple jabs at your chin. Can you see how resentment hurts yourself?
Forgiveness Idioms
- Be a new person
- Be compassionate
- Be empathetic
- Be merciful
- Be the bigger person
- Be understanding
- Bury the Hatchet
- Extend grace
- Forgive and Forget
- Got a chip on his shoulder
- Have a forgiving heart
- Hold a grudge
- Hold no ill will
- Learn from your mistakes
- Leave the past in the dust
- Let bygones be bygones
- Let go of the past
- Move on
- Not hold a grudge
- Offer an olive branch
- Put the past behind you
- Start with a clean slate
- Take the high road
- Turn a blind eye
- Turn the other cheek
- Wash your hands of something
- Water under the Bridge
- Wipe the slate clean
In Other Languages
Spanish – perdón
French – le pardon
German – Vergebung
Italian – perdono
Swedish – förlåtelse
Basque – barkamena
Portugese – perdão