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7 dictionary results for: foreign

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

for·eign

[fawr-in, for-] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	of, pertaining to, or derived from another country or nation; not native: foreign cars.

2.	of or pertaining to contact or dealings with other countries; connected with foreign affairs.

3.	external to one's own country or nation: a foreign country.

4.	carried on abroad, or with other countries: foreign trade.

5.	belonging to or coming from another district, province, etc.

6.	located outside a specific district, province, etc.

Law.

a.	of or pertaining to law outside of local jurisdiction.

b.	of or pertaining to another jurisdiction, as of another nation or state.

8.	belonging to or proceeding from other persons or things: a statement supported by foreign testimony.

9.	not belonging to the place or body where found: foreign matter in a chemical mixture.

10.	not related to or connected with the thing under consideration: foreign to our discussion.

11.	alien in character; irrelevant or inappropriate; remote.

12.	strange or unfamiliar.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME forein < OF forain, forein < VL *forānus, deriv. of L forās outside

]

—Related forms

for·eign·ly, adverb

for·eign·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1, 3. alien. 4. international. 11. extraneous, outside.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

for·eign (fôr'ĭn, fŏr'-) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Located away from one's native country: on business in a foreign city.
Of, characteristic of, or from a place or country other than the one being considered: a foreign custom.
Conducted or involved with other nations or governments; not domestic: foreign trade.
Situated in an abnormal or improper place in the body and typically introduced from outside: a foreign object in the eye.
Not natural; alien: Jealousy is foreign to her nature.
Not germane; irrelevant.
Subject to the jurisdiction of another political unit.

[Middle English forein, from Old French forain, from Late Latin forānus, on the outside, from Latin forās, outside; see dhwer- in Indo-European roots.]

for'eign·ness n.

Synonyms: These adjectives mean of, from, or characteristic of another place or part of the world: a foreign accent; alien customs; exotic birds; moved to a strange city.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
foreign

1297, ferren, foreyne "out of doors," from O.Fr. forain, from L.L. foranus "on the outside, exterior," from L. foris "outside," lit. "out of doors," related to fores "door;" spelling altered 17c. perhaps by influence of reign, sovereign. Replaced native fremd. Sense of "not in one's own land" is first attested 1393.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

foreign
adjective
1.	of concern to or concerning the affairs of other nations (other than your own); "foreign trade"; "a foreign office" [ant: domestic]
2.	relating to or originating in or characteristic of another place or part of the world; "foreign nations"; "a foreign accent"; "on business in a foreign city" [ant: native]
3.	not contained in or deriving from the essential nature of something; "an economic theory alien to the spirit of capitalism"; "the mysticism so foreign to the French mind and temper"; "jealousy is foreign to her nature" [syn: alien]
4.	not belonging to that in which it is contained; introduced from an outside source; "water free of extraneous matter"; "foreign particles in milk" [syn: extraneous]

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Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Foreign

1. A non-U.S. company with securities trading on the North American market.

2. In general, any corporation organized under the laws of another country.

Investopedia Commentary

1. From an American's perspective, foreign means pretty much everything outside the United States.

2. Sometimes foreign corporations are called alien corporations.

See also: ADR, Foreign Currency

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Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: for·eign
Function: adjective
: not being within the jurisdiction of a political unit (as a state); especially : being from or in a state other than the one in which a matter is being considered foreign company doing business in South Carolina> foreign executor submitting to the jurisdiction of this court> foreign judgment> —compare DOMESTIC

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Foreign

For"eign\, a. [OE. forein, F. forain, LL. foraneus, fr. L. foras, foris, out of doors, abroad, without; akin to fores doors, and E. door. See Door, and cf. Foreclose, Forfeit, Forest, Forum.]

1. Outside; extraneous; separated; alien; as, a foreign country; a foreign government. "Foreign worlds." --Milton.

2. Not native or belonging to a certain country; born in or belonging to another country, nation, sovereignty, or locality; as, a foreign language; foreign fruits. "Domestic and foreign writers." --Atterbury.

Hail, foreign wonder! Whom certain these rough shades did never breed. --Milton.

3. Remote; distant; strange; not belonging; not connected; not pertaining or pertient; not appropriate; not harmonious; not agreeable; not congenial; -- with to or from; as, foreign to the purpose; foreign to one's nature.

This design is not foreign from some people's thoughts. --Swift.

4. Held at a distance; excluded; exiled. [Obs.]

Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, That he ran mad and died. --Shak.

Foreign attachment (Law), a process by which the property of a foreign or absent debtor is attached for the satisfaction of a debt due from him to the plaintiff; an attachment of the goods, effects, or credits of a debtor in the hands of a third person; -- called in some States trustee, in others factorizing, and in others garnishee process. --Kent. --Tomlins. --Cowell.

Foreign bill, a bill drawn in one country, and payable in another, as distinguished from an inland bill, which is one drawn and payable in the same country. In this latter, as well as in several other points of view, the different States of the United States are foreign to each other. See Exchange, n., 4. --Kent. --Story.

Foreign body (Med.), a substance occurring in any part of the body where it does not belong, and usually introduced from without.

Foreign office, that department of the government of Great Britain which has charge British interests in foreign countries.

Syn: Outlandish; alien; exotic; remote; distant; extraneous; extrinsic.

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