Home › Words › F › forechainforechainforechain means A chain securing the lower shrouds of the foremast.EtymologyFrom fore- + chain.nounA chain securing the lower shrouds of the foremast.e.g.“"Slip into the lee forechains, Billy; there is something in the wind. […]"” — 1924, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).