Concise Oxford English Dictionary

‘fɒrɪdʒ■verb

 search widely for food or provisions. ▶

obtain (food) by searching.
■noun

    food for horses and cattle.
    an act of foraging.

forager noun

ME: from OFr. fourrage

 (n.), fourrager

 (v.), from fuerre

 ‘straw’, of Gmc origin and related to fodder….

Merriam-Webster Collegiate® Dictionary

¹for·agePronunciation:    ‘fȯr-ij, ‘fär-Function:          nounEtymology:         Middle English, from Anglo-French, from fuerre, foer fodder, straw, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German fuotar food, fodder ― more at FOODDate:              14th century

1 : food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing
2 [²forage] : the act of foraging : search for provisions

²forageFunction:          verbInflected Form:   for·aged ; for·ag·ingDate:              15th century

transitive verb
1 : to strip of provisions : collect forage from
2 : to secure by foraging <foraged a chicken for the feast>
intransitive verb
1 : to wander in search of forage or food
2 : to secure forage (as for horses) by stripping the country
3 : RAVAGE, RAID
4 : to make a search : RUMMAGE
–for·ag·er noun