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foreign

 - 6 dictionary results

for⋅eign

  [fawr-in, for-]
–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.
7. 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.
Use foreign in a Sentence
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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To foreign
for·eign   (fôr'ĭn, fŏr'-)   
adj.  

  1. Located away from one's native country: on business in a foreign city.

  2. Of, characteristic of, or from a place or country other than the one being considered: a foreign custom.

  3. Conducted or involved with other nations or governments; not domestic: foreign trade.

  4. Situated in an abnormal or improper place in the body and typically introduced from outside: a foreign object in the eye.

  5. Not natural; alien: Jealousy is foreign to her nature.

  6. Not germane; irrelevant.

  7. 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.
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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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

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

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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Legal Dictionary

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
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: for·eign
Pronunciation: 'for-&n, 'fär-
Function: adjective
: occurring in an abnormal situation in the living body and oftenintroduced from outside
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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