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Foil - 15 dictionary results

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

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.
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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.
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Foil

Foil\ (foil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Foiled (foild); p. pr. & vb. n. Foiling.] [F. fouler to tread or trample under one's feet, to press, oppress. See Full, v. t.]

1. To tread under foot; to trample.

King Richard . . . caused the ensigns of Leopold to be pulled down and foiled under foot. --Knoless.

Whom he did all to pieces breake and foyle, In filthy durt, and left so in the loathely soyle. --Spenser.

2. To render (an effort or attempt) vain or nugatory; to baffle; to outwit; to balk; to frustrate; to defeat.

And by ? mortal man at length am foiled. --Dryden.

Her long locks that foil the painter's power. --Byron.

3. To blunt; to dull; to spoil; as, to foil the scent in chase. --Addison.

Foil

Foil\, v. t. [See 6th File.] To defile; to soil. [Obs.]

Foil

Foil\, n. 1. Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage. --Milton.

Nor e'er was fate so near a foil. --Dryden.

2. A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in the main, but usually lighter and having a button at the point.

Blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt not. --Shak.

Isocrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes with a word. --Mitford.

3. The track or trail of an animal.

To run a foil,to lead astray; to puzzle; -- alluding to the habits of some animals of running back over the same track to mislead their pursuers. --Brewer.

Foil

Foil\, n. [OE. foil leaf, OF. foil, fuil, fueil, foille, fueille, F. feuille, fr. L. folium, pl. folia; akin to Gr. ?, and perh. to E. blade. Cf. Foliage, Folio.]

1. A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil.

2. (Jewelry) A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones. --Ure.

3. Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to adorn or set off another thing to advantage.

As she a black silk cap on him began To set, for foil of his milk-white to serve. --Sir P. Sidney.

Hector has a foil to set him off. --Broome.

4. A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of a looking-glass, to cause reflection.

5. (Arch.) The space between the cusps in Gothic architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows, niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil, quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of arcs of which it is composed.

Foil stone, an imitation of a jewel or precious stone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Foil
Spanish: frustrar,
German: vereiteln,
Japanese: 裏をかく
More Translations »

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
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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.
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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
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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.
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