Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words
fogless
fogo island
fogram
fogrum
fogsignal
fogy
fogyish
fogyism
foh
fohist
fohn
foi
foia
foible
foie gras
foie grases
foil
foilborne
foiler
foilsman
foilsmen
foin
foinery
foip
foirl
foism
foison
foist
foist in
foist off
foist on
foister
foistiness

Foil

 - 11 dictionary results
Foil
Search Thousands of Catalogs for Foil
www.globalspec.com
Foil
Looking for Foil? Wholesale prices. Order today!
IndustrialHardware.com
Anti Drink Spiking Lids-
glasses-Foils-Bottles-condom pocket underwear Top for personal safety
www.swankyorspanky.co.uk

foil

1  [foil]
Use Foil in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to prevent the success of; frustrate; balk: Loyal troops foiled his attempt to overthrow the government.
2. to keep (a person) from succeeding in an enterprise, plan, etc.
–noun
3. Archaic. a defeat; check; repulse.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME foilen, < AF foller, OF fuler to trample, full (cloth). See full 2

Related forms:
foil⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
1. thwart; impede, hamper.
Foil
Search Thousands of Catalogs for Foil
www.globalspec.com
Foil
Looking for Foil? Wholesale prices. Order today!
IndustrialHardware.com

foil

2  [foil]
–noun
1. metal in the form of very thin sheets: aluminum foil.
2. the metallic backing applied to glass to form a mirror.
3. a thin layer of metal placed under a gem in a closed setting to improve its color or brilliancy.
4. a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast: The straight man was an able foil to the comic.
5. Architecture. an arc or a rounded space between cusps, as in the tracery of a window or other ornamentation.
6. an airfoil or hydrofoil.
–verb (used with object)
7. to cover or back with foil.
8. to set off by contrast.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME foille, foil < OF fuelle, fueille, foille (< L folia leaves), fuel, fueil, foil (< L folium leaf, blade)

Synonyms:
4. contrast, complement, counterpart.

foil

3  [foil]
–noun Fencing.
1. a flexible four-sided rapier having a blunt point.
2. foils, the art or practice of fencing with this weapon, points being made by touching the trunk of the opponent's body with the tip of the weapon.
Origin:
1585–95; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Foil
foil 1   (foil)   
tr.v.   foiled, foil·ing, foils

  1. To prevent from being successful; thwart.

  2. To obscure or confuse (a trail or scent) so as to evade pursuers.

n.   Archaic

  1. A repulse; a setback.

  2. The trail or scent of an animal.


[Middle English foilen, to trample, defile, variant of filen, to defile; see file3.]
foil 2   (foil)   
n.  

  1. A thin, flexible leaf or sheet of metal: aluminum foil.

  2. A thin layer of polished metal placed under a displayed gem to lend it brilliance.

  3. One that by contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another: "I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me" (Charlotte Brontë).

  4. The reflective metal coating on the back of a glass mirror.

  5. Architecture A curvilinear, often lobelike figure or space formed between the cusps of intersecting arcs, found especially in Gothic tracery and Moorish ornament.

    1. An airfoil.

    2. Nautical A hydrofoil.

tr.v.   foiled, foil·ing, foils

  1. To cover or back with foil.

  2. To set off by contrast.


[Middle English, from Old French foille, from Latin folia, pl. of folium, leaf; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
foil 3   (foil)   
n.  

  1. A fencing sword having a usually circular guard and a thin, flexible four-sided blade with a button on the tip to prevent injury.

  2. The art or sport of fencing with such a sword. Often used in the plural: a contest at foils.


[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

foil  (v.)
c.1300, foilen "to spoil a trace or scent by running over it," from O.Fr. fouler "trample," from V.L. *fullare "to clean cloth" (by treading on it), from L. fullo "one who cleans cloth, fuller," of unknown origin. Sense of "frustrate the efforts of" first recorded 1664.

foil  (n.)
"thin sheet of metal," 1398, from O.Fr. fueille "leaf," from L. folia "leaves," pl. (mistaken for fem. sing.) of folium "leaf" (see folio). The sense of "one who enhances another by contrast" (1581) is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine better. The meaning "light sword used in fencing" (1594) could be from this sense, or from foil (v.). The modern sense of "metallic food wrap" is from 1946.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: foil
Pronunciation: 'foil
Function: noun
: very thin sheet metal (as of gold or platinum) used especially in filling teeth
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Computing Dictionary

FOIL
File Oriented Interpretive Language. CAI language.
["FOIL - A File Oriented Interpretive Language", J.C. Hesselbart, Proc ACM 23rd National Conf (1968)].

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

foil

in architecture, leaf-shaped, indented spaces which, combined with cusps (small, projecting arcs outlining the leaf design), are found especially in the tracery (decorative openwork) of Gothic windows. The term is derived from the Latin folium, meaning "leaf." A window or wall ornamented with foils is referred to as foiled. There are three kinds of such stylized foliated decoration: trefoil, quatrefoil, and cinquefoil, or three-, four-, and five-lobed leaves.

Learn more about foil with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Foil on Thesaurus | Reference
Anti Drink Spiking Lids-
glasses-Foils-Bottles-condom pocket underwear Top for personal safety
www.swankyorspanky.co.uk
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way