Foul

Foul
Foul Foul (foul), a. [Compar. Fouler (-[~e]r); superl. {Foulest}.] [OE. foul, ful, AS. f[=u]l; akin to D. vuil, G. faul rotten, OHG. f[=u]l, Icel. f[=u]l foul, fetid; Dan. fuul, Sw. ful foul, Goth. f[=u]ls fetid, Lith. puti to be putrid, L. putere to stink, be putrid, pus pus, Gr. py`on pus, to cause to rot, Skr. p[=u]y to stink. [root]82. Cf. {Defile} to foul, {File} to foul, {Filth}, {Pus}, {Putrid}.] 1. Covered with, or containing, extraneous matter which is injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy; dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney; foul air; a ship's bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles; a gun becomes foul from repeated firing; a well is foul with polluted water. [1913 Webster]

My face is foul with weeping. --Job. xvi. 16. [1913 Webster]

2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language. [1913 Webster]

3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. ``The foul with Sycorax.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? --Milton. [1913 Webster]

4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease. [1913 Webster]

5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

6. Not favorable; unpropitious; not fair or advantageous; as, a foul wind; a foul road; cloudy or rainy; stormy; not fair; -- said of the weather, sky, etc. [1913 Webster]

So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play. [1913 Webster]

8. Having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement; entangled; -- opposed to {clear}; as, a rope or cable may get foul while paying it out. [1913 Webster]

{Foul anchor}. (Naut.) See under {Anchor}.

{Foul ball} (Baseball), a ball that first strikes the ground outside of the foul ball lines, or rolls outside of certain limits.

{Foul ball lines} (Baseball), lines from the home base, through the first and third bases, to the boundary of the field.

{Foul berth} (Naut.), a berth in which a ship is in danger of fouling another vesel.

{Foul bill}, or {Foul bill of health}, a certificate, duly authenticated, that a ship has come from a place where a contagious disorder prevails, or that some of the crew are infected.

{Foul copy}, a rough draught, with erasures and corrections; -- opposed to fair or clean copy. ``Some writers boast of negligence, and others would be ashamed to show their foul copies.'' --Cowper.

{Foul proof}, an uncorrected proof; a proof containing an excessive quantity of errors.

{Foul strike} (Baseball), a strike by the batsman when any part of his person is outside of the lines of his position.

{To fall foul}, to fall out; to quarrel. [Obs.] ``If they be any ways offended, they fall foul.'' --Burton.

{To fall foul of} or {To run foul of}. See under {Fall}.

{To make foul water}, to sail in such shallow water that the ship's keel stirs the mud at the bottom. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • foul — [foul] adj. [ME < OE ful, akin to Ger faul, rotten, lazy < IE base * pū , * pu , to stink (< ? exclamation of disgust) > L putere, to rot, Gr pyon, PUS] 1. so offensive to the senses as to cause disgust; stinking; loathsome [a foul… …   English World dictionary

  • Foul — may refer to:*Foul (sports), an unfair or illegal sports act, including: **Foul (football), in football (soccer), an unfair act by a player as deemed by the referee **Professional foul, in football (soccer) or rugby, a deliberate act of foul play …   Wikipedia

  • foul — 〈[ faʊl] Adj.; nur präd. u. adv.; Sp.〉 regelwidrig, unfair, unsportlich [engl., „schmutzig, unrein, faul“] * * * foul [fa̮ul ] <Adj.> [engl. foul, eigtl. = schmutzig; hässlich, verw. mit ↑ faul] (Sport): regelwidrig, unfair, unsportlich …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Foul — 〈[ faʊl] n. 15; Sp.〉 Verstoß gegen die (allgemein anerkannten) Spielregeln [engl., „etwas Unreines, regelwidriger Schlag od. Stoß beim Sport“] * * * foul [fa̮ul ] <Adj.> [engl. foul, eigtl. = schmutzig; hässlich, verw. mit ↑ faul] (Sport):… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • foul — »regelwidrig«: Aus England, dem Mutterland des Fußballsports, wurde im 20. Jh. eine Reihe von Ausdrücken der Fußballersprache entlehnt. Die meisten davon wurden allerdings später durch Lehnübersetzungen ersetzt (beachte z. B. Aus ‹↑ aus› für engl …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • Foul — »regelwidrig«: Aus England, dem Mutterland des Fußballsports, wurde im 20. Jh. eine Reihe von Ausdrücken der Fußballersprache entlehnt. Die meisten davon wurden allerdings später durch Lehnübersetzungen ersetzt (beachte z. B. Aus ‹↑ aus› für engl …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • foul — [adj1] disgusting, dirty abhorrent, abominable, base, contaminated, despicable, detestable, disgraceful, dishonorable, egregious, fetid, filthy, gross*, hateful, heinous, horrid, icky*, impure, infamous, iniquitous, loathsome, malodorous, mucky* …   New thesaurus

  • Foul — Foul, n. 1. An entanglement; a collision, as in a boat race. [1913 Webster] 2. (Baseball) See {Foul ball}, under {Foul}, a. [1913 Webster] 3. In various games or sports, an act done contrary to the rules; a foul stroke, hit, play, or the like.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Foul — [faul] das; s, s; Sport; (besonders bei Mannschaftsspielen) eine unsportliche und unerlaubte Behinderung des Gegners <ein böses, grobes, harmloses Foul; ein verstecktes Foul; ein Foul an jemandem begehen>: Der Schiedsrichter ahndete das… …   Langenscheidt Großwörterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache

  • foul — foul, foully The normal adverb from foul is foully (pronounced with both ls): • Jerome had done foully, but not so foully as he himself and all here believed Ellis Peters, 1993. The older form foul survives in the quasi adverbial expressions foul …   Modern English usage

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