Other forms: foreseen, foresaw, foreseeing, foresees
To foresee is to know in advance that something will happen. Could not have foreseen, foresee problems, the foreseeable future.
It means predicting correctly rather than merely guessing, which is why nobody could have foreseen it is such a useful defence. Foreseeable is the important derived word: in law, liability often depends on whether harm was foreseeable, and for the foreseeable future means as far ahead as anybody can sensibly plan. Note foresight; and that the compound is Old English, built exactly as it still is.
1verbforeseeTo know in advance that something will happen.
“The organisers didn't foresee such a huge crowd, so they ran out of food.”
2adjectiveableAble to be predicted, in the form foreseeable.
“The shop will stay closed for the foreseeable future.”
foresee is a predicting.
Old English foreseon is fore plus see, and Dutch voorzien and German vorsehen are built identically. The Latin providere, whence provide, is the same idea in another language.
Old English
foresēon
Middle English
foreseen
English, today
foresee
From Middle English foreseen, forseen, from Old English foresēon; equivalent to fore- + see. Similar formations in Dutch voorzien, German vorsehen, Latin prōvideō, (whence provide and purvey), Ancient Greek πρόοιδα, Polish przewidzieć, Russian провидеть.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA