forlorn hope

noun

1. a perilous or desperate enterprise.
2. a vain hope.
3. Obsolete. a group of soldiers assigned to perform some unusually dangerous service.

forlorn hope

noun

1. a hopeless or desperate enterprise
2. a faint hope
3. obsolete.
   a group of soldiers assigned to an extremely dangerous duty

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn hope¹

1530–40; folk-etymological alteration of Dutch verloren hoop literally, lost troop

Word History and Origins

Origin of forlorn hope¹

C16 (in the obsolete sense): changed (by folk etymology) from Dutch verloren hoop lost troop, from verloren , past participle of verliezen to lose + hoop troop (literally: heap)

Example Sentences

Still, I persisted in the forlorn hope that the GOP race might turn into a free-for-all.

From Los Angeles Times

The London Times notes, ‘The prospect of reaching the summit seems now much less a forlorn hope than it did.’

From Scientific American

Then, a forlorn hope: maybe the replacement battery shipped empty?

From The Verge

And I’m not the only one.,” but he was guilty of false equivalence and a forlorn hope.

From Washington Post

He added that public transport for many in north Wales was a "forlorn hope".

From BBC