foil

See also: FOIL

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔɪl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪl

Etymology 1

From Middle English foil, foille, from Old French fueille (“plant leaf”), from Latin folia, the plural of folium, mistaken as a singular feminine.

Noun

foil (countable and uncountable, plural foils)

1. A very thin sheet of metal.
2. (uncountable) Thin aluminium/aluminum (or, formerly, tin) used for wrapping food.
3. A thin layer of metal put between a jewel and its setting to make it seem more brilliant.
4. (figuratively) In literature, theatre/theater, etc., a character who helps emphasize the traits of the main character.
5. (figuratively) Anything that acts by contrast to emphasise the characteristics of something.
   • Sir Philip Sidney

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

   • Broome

     Hector has a foil to set him off.

6. (fencing) A very thin sword with a blunted (or foiled) tip
   • Shakespeare

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

   • Mitford

     Socrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes with a sword.

7. A thin, transparent plastic material on which marks are made and projected for the purposes of presentation. See transparency.
8. (heraldry) A stylized flower or leaf.
9. Shortened form of hydrofoil.
10. Shortened form of aerofoil/airfoil.

Synonyms

• (thin aluminium/aluminum): aluminium foil, silver foil, silver paper, tin foil

Derived terms

Derived terms

• aluminum foil
• cinquefoil
• counterfoil
• quatrefoil

• sexfoil
• tin foil
• trefoil

Translations

thin sheet of metal

• Armenian: նրբաթիթեղ (hy) (nrbatʿitʿeł), փայլաթիթեղ (hy) (pʿaylatʿitʿeł), ֆոլգա (hy) (folga)
• Bulgarian: фолио (folio)
• Catalan: full (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 金屬薄片 (zh), 金属薄片 (zh) (jīnshǔbáopiàn)

• Czech: fólie f
• Dutch: folie (nl) n
• Finnish: folio (fi), ohkolevy
• French: feuille (fr) f
• Georgian: ფოლგა (ka) (polga)
• German: Folie (de) n
• Greek: έλασμα (el) n (élasma)
• Italian: lamina (it) f, lamella f

• Japanese: ホイル (hoiru), フォイル (foiru), 金属裏張り (きんぞくうらばり, kinzoku urabari), 箔 (ja) (はく, haku)
• Korean: 포일 (poil), 호일 (hoil), 금속 보호 종이 (geumsog boho jong-i)
• Lithuanian: folija f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: folie (no) m

  Nynorsk: folie m

• Persian: فویل‎ (foyl)
• Polish: folia (pl) f
• Portuguese: folha (pt) f
• Russian: фольга́ (ru) f (folʹgá), станио́ль (ru) m (staniólʹ)
• Spanish: lámina de metal f, folio (es) m
• Swedish: folie (sv)
• Turkish: folyo (tr)

thin aluminium/aluminum or tin used for wrapping food

• Armenian: ֆոլգա (hy) (folga)
• Bulgarian: варак m (varak), станиол m (staniol)
• Catalan: paper d'alumini m
• Dutch: Aluminiumfolie f
• Finnish: folio (fi)
• French: papier d'aluminium (fr) m, alu (fr) m
• German: Aluminiumfolie (de) f
• Greek: αλουμινόχαρτο (el) n (alouminócharto)
• Italian: carta stagnola f
• Korean: please add this translation if you can

• Lithuanian: folija f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: folie (no) m

  Nynorsk: folie m

• Polish: folia (pl) f
• Portuguese: papel-alumínio (pt) m
• Russian: фольга́ (ru) f (folʹgá)
• Spanish: papel de aluminio (es) m
• Swedish: aluminiumfolie (sv)

type of sword used in fencing

• Bulgarian: рапира (bg) f (rapira)
• Catalan: floret m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 花劍 (zh), 花剑 (zh) (huājiàn)

• Czech: fleret (cs) m
• Dutch: floret
• Finnish: floretti (fi)
• French: fleuret (fr) m
• German: Florett (de)
• Greek: ελαφρύ ξίφος ξιφασκίας n (elafrý xífos xifaskías)
• Hungarian: tőr (hu)

• Italian: fioretto (it) m
• Japanese: フルーレ (furūre)
• Lithuanian: rapyra f
• Macedonian: флорет m (florét)
• Manx: cliwe crammanagh m
• Polish: floret (pl) m
• Portuguese: florete (pt) m
• Russian: рапи́ра (ru) f (rapíra)
• Spanish: florete m
• Swedish: florett (sv) c

thin layer of metal put between a jewel and its setting to make it seem more brilliant

• Finnish: folio (fi)
• Hindi: डाक (hi) m (ḍāk)

• Lithuanian: folija f

character who helps emphasise the traits of the main character

• French: faire-valoir (fr) m
• German: Kontrastfigur f

• Italian: spalla (it) f

anything that acts to emphasise the characteristics of something

shortened form of hydrofoil — see hydrofoil

shortened form of aerofoil/airfoil — see aerofoil

Etymology 2

From Middle English foilen (“spoil a scent trail by crossing it”), from Old French fouler (“tread on, trample”), ultimately from Latin fullo (“clothes cleaner, fuller”).

Verb

foil (third-person singular simple present foils, present participle foiling, simple past and past participle foiled)

1. To prevent (something) from being accomplished.
2. To prevent (someone) from accomplishing something.
   • Dryden

     And by mortal man at length am foiled.

   • Byron

     her long locks that foil the painter's power

   • 2011 December 10, David Ornstein, “Arsenal 1 - 0 Everton”, in BBC Sport^[1]:

     First, former Toffee Mikel Arteta sent Walcott racing clear but instead of shooting he squared towards Ramsey, who was foiled by Tony Hibbert.

3. To blunt; to dull; to spoil.

   to foil the scent in hunting

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Addison to this entry?)

4. (obsolete) To tread underfoot; to trample.
   • Knowles

     King Richard […] caused the ensigns of Leopold to be pulled down and foiled under foot.

   • Spenser

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

Synonyms

• (prevent from being accomplished): put the kibosh on, scupper, thwart

Translations

prevent from being accomplished

• Arabic: فَشَّلَ‎ (faššala)
• Armenian: խափանել (hy) (xapʿanel), առաջն առնել (aṙaǰn aṙnel)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阻止 (zh)

• Dutch: verijdelen (nl), afweren (nl), frustreren (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: estää (fi), pilata (pilata suunnitelma)
• French: déjouer (fr)
• German: hintertreiben (de)
• Greek: ματαιώνω (el) (mataióno)
• Hebrew: מנע‎ (maná)

• Hungarian: meghiúsít (hu)
• Italian: sventare (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: whakahēhē
• Portuguese: frustrar (pt)
• Russian: предотвращать (ru) (predotvraščatʹ)
• Spanish: frustrar (es)
• Swedish: omintetgöra, kullkasta
• Thai: ทำลาย (th) (tamlaai)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can

Noun

foil (plural foils)

1. Failure when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)

   • Dryden

     Nor e'er was fate so near a foil.

2. One of the incorrect answers presented in a multiple-choice test.

Etymology 3

From French foulis.

Noun

foil (plural foils)

1. (hunting) The track of an animal.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter IV, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, London: A[ndrew] Millar, OCLC 928184292, book VII:

     […] but after giving her a dodge, here's another b— follows me upon the foil.

Synonyms

• (track of an animal): spoor

Etymology 4

From mnemonic acronym FOIL (“First Outside Inside Last”).

Verb

foil (third-person singular simple present foils, present participle foiling, simple past and past participle foiled)

1. (mathematics) To expand a product of two or more algebraic expressions, typically binomials.

Translations

to expand a product of two or more algebraic expressions, typically binomials

• Dutch: uitwerken (nl)

• Finnish: kertoa (fi)

Etymology 5

See file.

Verb

foil (third-person singular simple present foils, present participle foiling, simple past and past participle foiled)

1. (obsolete) To defile; to soil.

Anagrams

• Filo, LIFO, filo, lo-fi

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Old French

Alternative forms

• feul
• foel
• fol

• fueill
• fuel
• fuil

Etymology

Latin folium. Compare fueille, from the plural of folium, folia.

Noun

foil m (oblique plural fouz or foilz, nominative singular fouz or foilz, nominative plural foil)

1. leaf (green appendage of a plant which photosynthesizes)