foul English · revision 10313

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 800|origins=gem-pro *fūlaz|origins=ine-pro *pu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /faʊl/, /ˈfaʊ.əl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English foul, [[inh|ang|fūl|t=rotten, unclean, vile, corrupt]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *fūlaz,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Dutch vuil, German [[m|de|faul|t=rotten, lazy]], Old Norse fúll and Gothic fūls, stinking,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from PIE *pu-, to rot, decay, perhaps from the sound made on smelling something bad;^(Etymonline) Latin pūs, pus, and putēre, to stink, are cognate.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Grossly offensive to the senses, stinking: before 800.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original sense was stinking or disgusting.^(Cresswell 2021) Old English fūl occasionally meant ugly, as the opposite of fæger, [[fair]];^(Etymonline) Hoad dates the sense opposite of fair to Middle English.^(Hoad 1986) Dirty, soiled, is from about 1000,^(OED 1989) and of weather from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) ''Foul play'' is recorded from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and in sport, irregular or contrary to the rules, from 1797,^(Etymonline) with players able to complain of ''a foul'' from the 1750s.^(Cresswell 2021) In baseball, out of play, it is by 1860.^(Etymonline) The verb, Old English fūlian, to rot, meant to make foul or pollute from about 1200,^(Etymonline) and to become entangled, chiefly nautical, from 1832.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 800 – stinking.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – dirty.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – to pollute (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – of weather.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – foul play.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1797 – against the rules.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1832 – to become entangled.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1860 – a foul ball.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Offensive to the senses; [[disgusting]] or stinking.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Full of dirt or impurities; polluted.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Morally offensive; wicked.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Obscene or vulgar: ''foul language''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of weather, unpleasant or stormy.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Against the rules of a game; unfair.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Entangled, clogged or obstructed.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A breach of the rules of a game.^(AHD)

+ # An entanglement or collision.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make dirty; to [[pollute]].^(AHD)

+ # To commit a foul against a player.^(AHD)

+ # To clog, obstruct or entangle.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[foully]]

+ * [[foulness]]

+ * [[afoul]]

+ * [[befoul]]

+ * [[biofouling]]

+ * [[filth]]

+ * [[foulbrood]]

+ * [[foulmouthed]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fair]]

+ * [[putrid]]

+ * [[pus]]

+ * [[defile]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}