| 释义 |
▪ I. foul, a., adv. and n.|faʊl|
Forms: 1 fúl, 2–3 ful, (3 ? fuȝel), 2–5 fule, (5 fulle), 4 fole, (feule), 4–7 foule, fowl(e, 4 south. voule, (5–6 foull, fow(e)ll), 9 dial. feaw, fou, 3– foul.
[OE. fúl = OFris. fûl(nisse) (Du. vuil), OHG. fûl (MHG. vûl, Ger. faul), ON. fúll (Sw. ful, Da. fuul), Goth. fûls:—OTeut. *fûlo-, f. root *fu- (also in ON. fúenn rotten, feyja:—*faujan to cause to rot):—Aryan *pu- (in Skr. pū to stink, Gr. πύον, L. pūs purulent matter, L. pūtēre to stink, puter rotten).]
A. adj.
I.
1. a. Grossly offensive to the senses, physically loathsome; primarily with reference to the odour or appearance indicative of putridity or corruption.
a800Corpus Gloss. 1031 Holido, fule. 971Blickl. Hom. 59 Se lichoma þonne on þone heardestan stenc..þone fulostan bið ᵹecyrred. c1175Lamb. Hom. 43 Ful stunch. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2556 Summe he deden in vn-ðewed swinc, for it was fuȝel and ful o stinc. c1325Metr. Hom. 77 Wykked folk sall fall doun Into hell that foule dongoun. a1535More Wks. (1557) 477 Lest he finally fall into the fowle smoke of helle, where he shall neuer see after. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 841 Thou resembl'st..Thy..place of doom obscure and foule. Mod. The foul smells of the place soon drove us away. The foul dens to be found in our great cities.
b. Of a disease or a person affected with disease: Loathsome. † the foul disease or foul evil: (a) epilepsy, (b) syphilis, etc. foul brood: a disease of larval bees (see quot. 1896); hence foul-broody adj., infected with foul brood.
c900Bede Gloss. 50 in Sweet O.E. Texts 181 Feda peste, fulre adle. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 96 Feueres oþer fouler yueles. 1486Bk. St. Albans C v b, That is tokyn of the foule glet. 1529S. Fish Supplic. Beggers (E.E.T.S.) 1 The foule, vnhappy sorte of lepres. 1542Boorde Introd. Knowl. ii. 127 As ‘the foule euyll’, whyche is the fallyng syckenes, is at the ende of euery skottysh mans tale. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 567 The disease called the Foul evill. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 711 On Winter Seas we fewer Storms behold, Than foul diseases that infect the Fold. 1744Berkeley Siris §63 Useful in gouts, dropsies, and rheums, as well as in the foul disease. 1863Jrnl. Hort. 28 July 78/1 It..occurred to me that all the mischief might possibly arise from that fatal scourge of continental and American apiaries denominated ‘foul brood’. 1875J. Hunter Man. Bee-keeping 193 Twenty stocks..were foul-broody, and I lost them all. 1888Gd. Words 353 The terrible disease [of bees] known as ‘foul-brood’. 1896Board of Agriculture Leaflet No. 32 Foul brood or Bee pest is the most terrible scourge of apiculture. It..is caused by a rod-shaped micro-organism, called Bacillus alvei..Hives in which foul brood exists give forth a sickly and unpleasant smell.
c. Charged with offensive matter; ‘full of gross humours’ (J.). Of a carcase: Tainted with disease.
c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 93 Þis is þe difference bitwene a cankre & a foul ulcus. 1606Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 60, I will through and through Cleanse the foul bodie of th' infected world. 1609Skene Reg. Maj., Stat. Robt. III, c. 40. 59 b, Fvle Swine, or Corrvpted Salmon, sould be not sauld. 1799Med. Jrnl. II. 350 A comparative view of a foul ulcer, with one in a healing state. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. ii. iii. (1872) 32 Foul Product of still fouler corruption.
II. Opposed to clean a. II.
(The implication of disgust etymologically belonging to the word was formerly often absent in these senses; in present use association with sense 1 has commonly restored it, exc. in certain technical or idiomatic expressons.)
2. Dirty, soiled; covered with or full of dirt. Of ground, a road: Miry, muddy. Now arch. or dial., exc. with mixture of sense 1: Disgustingly dirty, filthy.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 125 Stigmentum, ful maal on ræᵹel. c1175Lamb. Hom. 81 Þes oðer..luueð his sunnen alse deð þet fette swin þet fule fen to liȝȝen in. c1230Hali Meid. 13 Þa ilke sari wrecches þat i þat ilke fule wurðunge unweddede walewið. c1300Havelok 555 In a poke, ful and blac, Sone he caste him on his bac. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 287 Torfes..smelleþ wors þan wode, and makeþ fouler askes. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7214 Þe way was foule, and wendyng hard. c1483Caxton Vocab. 16 Yf it [the vrinall] be foull. So rubbe it within. 1516Will of R. Peke of Wakefield 4 June, To ament a fowll holle abowt the brige. 1535Coverdale Zech. iii. 4 Take awaye y⊇ foule clothes from him. 1655H. Vaughan Silex Scint. i. Stars (1858) 56 The night Is dark, and long; The Rode foul. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 341 One of the Washers, came..to fetch People's foul Linnen. 1807Med. Jrnl. XVII. 107 The sick..dressed in their foulest clothes. 1889Whitby Gaz. 25 Oct. 3/3 If the way be foul so as not to be passable.
fig.1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 139 Come, come, you talke greasily, your lips grow foule. 1715De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iv. (1841) 86 If you hold of this Mind, we are like to have a foul house with you quickly.
3. a. † Of handwriting: Blotted, illegible (obs.). foul case (see quots. 1872, 1963); foul copy: a first copy, defaced by corrections (now rare); so † foul books, etc.; foul papers, a draft or working manuscript, as opposed to a fair copy; foul proof: see quots. (Cf. clean a. 3 c, fair a. 8 c.)
1467Paston Lett. No. 575 II. 307 By cause of the foule wrytyng and interlynyeng. c1625in Library (1925) 4th Ser. VI. 152 The Booke where by it was first Acted from is lost: and this hath beene transcribed from the fowle papers of the Authors wch were found. 1628Earle Microcosm. (Arb.) 85 Acquaintance is the first draught of a friend, whom we must lay downe oft thus, as the foule coppy. 1659Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 470 The particulars in his hands were foul books and papers, out of which those he had returned were extracted. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 377 Foul Proof, when a Proof has many Faults markt in it. 1729J. Gay Polly Pref. p. iii, I take this occasion in the most solemn manner to affirm, that the very copy I delivered to Mr. Rich was written in my own hand some months before at the Bath from my own first foul blotted papers. 1758Jortin Erasm. I. 46 He sent a foul Copy..to Ammonius, begging him to get it transcribed. 1872W. Blades Shaks. & Typogr. 74 The compositor works with two of these cases slanting up in front of him, and, when from a shake, a slip, or any other accident, the letters become misplaced, the result is technically known as a ‘foul case’. 1888Jacobi Printer's Voc., Foul proof—a proof distinct from a clean proof. 1955Essays & Studies VIII. 3 Investigators have worked out theories about how we can recognize ‘foul papers’ (‘author's manuscript in its last stage before the making of a fair copy’, to quote a recent definition). 1959F. Bowers Textual & Lit. Crit. iii. 75 Formerly, both quartos were thought to be printed from Shakespeare's foul papers. 1963Kenneison & Spilman Dict. Printing 73 Foul case, a case of type in which the separate pieces of type have been distributed into the wrong compartments.
b. foul bill of health: see bill n.3 10.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Bill of Health.
4. a. Charged with defiling or noxious matter; esp. said of air, water, etc. † Of a ship: to make foul water (see quot. 1769). Cf. clean a. 2.
foul air, water, exc. in technical uses as Naut. or Mining, are now used with a mixture of sense 1.
1535Coverdale Jer. ii. 18 To drinke foule water. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 44 Fowle water is when she comes into shallow water where shee raise the sand or ose with her way. 1653–4Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 132 [The ship].. made fowle water by striking as she passed over the Riffe. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 35 The Seine..is foul and turbid as the Avon. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Eau changée, foul water; or water whose colour is changed by approaching the shore, or otherwise. 1805T. Lindley Voy. Brasil (1808) 48 Oppressed with breathing the foul air. 1817Coleridge Sibyl. Leaves (1862) 271 The unwholesome plain Sent up its foulest fogs. 1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 26 Foul, in an inflammable state, from fire-damp having accumulated. 1885Manch. Exam. 5 June 5/2 Old workings charged with foul gas. 1891E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 2 Coal pits..make the atmosphere foul with smoke.
b. Dirty-coloured, discoloured. Also fig. rare.
1601Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 6 We..make foule the clearnesse of our deseruings. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 12 Those teeth, which at a distance appear'd rarely white, are yellow and foul. 1717tr. Frezier's Voy. S. Sea 183 Glass made with Saltpeter..is green, foul, and ill wrought. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 136 Put into this your yellow-coloured or foul pearls.
5. a. Of food: Coarse, gross, rank. Hence, applied to the eating of such food, or the eaters of it (in present use, with the stronger notion of feeding on unclean or putrid food).
1713Felton On Classicks 67 They are all for rank and foul Feeding. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 256 Not one of us had an hour's sickness, notwithstanding we fed on such foul diet as we did, without bread or salt. 1727Arbuthnot John Bull Postscript ch. x, How the Esq: from a foul-feeder grew dainty. Mod. The vulture is a foul feeder.
b. Of a horse: Sluggish from want of exercise. † Hence, torpid. [Cf. Ger. faul lazy.]
1580Frampton Dial. Yron & Steele 133 For if they cast the juyce uppon him, it maketh him fowle [Sp. lo entorpece]. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 92 Any Horse that has too little Exercise, and is what we call foul, may puff and blow when moved quick up a Hill.
6. Clogged, choked, or encumbered with something foreign. Cf. clean a. 3 b.
a. gen. ? Obs.
c1470Henry Wallace ii. 377 Thoct it [the blaid] was foule, nobill it was of steyll. 1572Huloet, Fowle corn, being full of weedis. 1759B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. Devon 31 The Head of it lies in a fowl, barren ground. 1793Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) V. 77 Ground that is either foul of weeds or grass. 1809Med. Jrnl. XXI. 75 Swamps, muddy banks, and foul shores.
b. of a gun-barrel, or a chimney.
1674S. Vincent Gallant's Acad. 17 The Body of it [a gun] is fowl..by being too much heated. 1805W. Saunders Min. Waters 32 The scourings of a foul gun barrel. 1846Greener Sc. Gunnery 137 If the gun be allowed to get very foul. 1860–1F. Nightingale Nursing 24 If your chimney is foul, sweep it.
c. Naut. foul bottom, foul coast, foul ground (see quot. 1867). Also, of a ship: Having the bottom over-grown with seaweed, shell-fish, etc.
1622R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 117 The norther part of the bay hath foule ground and rockes under water. 1683W. Hacke Collect. Voy. i. (1699) 23 Yet she out-sailed us, she being clean and we as foul as we could be. 1717tr. Frezier's Voy. S. Sea 293 The Sea running high..made us fear, because the Coast is foul. 1790Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. 405 The Monmouth now became very foul and leaky. 1808Forsyth Beauties Scotl. V. 515 The navigation of the Sound of Ilay is dangerous..from foul ground. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foul Bottom..the bottom of the sea if rocky, or unsafe from wrecks. Foul Coast, one beset with reefs and breakers. Foul Ground, synonymous with foul bottom. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket-bk. v. (ed. 2) 157 The launch should be sent in the direction of the foulground.
†d. Of plants: Infested with insect parasites. Cf. filth 2 c. ? Obs.
1811Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 33 The peas fine, but foul [with plant-lice].
e. Path. Of the tongue: Coated with fur, furred.
1800Med. Jrnl. IV. 422 We misunderstand one of the most common appearances..I mean a foul tongue. 1849R. T. Claridge Cold Water-cure 166 Foul tongue and pain at the pit of the stomach.
7. a. Morally or spiritually polluted; abominable, detestable, wicked. For foul fiend, see fiend. foul thief: the devil. foul spirit = unclean spirit. Cf. clean a. 4.
a1000Crist 1482 (Gr.) Þu þæt sele-ᵹescot..þurh firen⁓lustas fule synne unsyfre besmite. a1175Cott. Hom. 243 Euel ȝeþanc and fule lustes. c1205Lay. 27634 His fule saule sæh in to helle. c1275Death 206 in O.E. Misc. 181 Þer ich schal imete mony o ful wiht. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 380 Kyng Wyllam..bygan sone..to febly..Vor trauayl of þe foul asaȝt. a1300Cursor M. 7444 (Gött.) Goli, þat etin, In foul hordam was he getin. c1320Sir Tristr. 1007 Þou lexst a foule lesing. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋72 Ne a fouler thral may no man..maken of his body than for to yeuen his body to synne. c1420Metr. St. Kath. (Halliw.) 10 Helle hounde, thou fowle wyght. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 681 The fule thefe..He was aboute my wyf to spyle. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 129 b, Theyr suggestions & thoughtes be foule & unprofytable. 1526–34Tindale Rev. xviii. 2 Babilon..ys become..the holde of all fowle sprettes. 1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 139, I had forgot that foule conspiracy Of the beast Calliban. 1679Penn Addr. Prot. ii. v. (1692) 186 To be Led..in ways we see to be foul or wrong. 1719Watts Ps. cxxi. (L.M.) 25 On thee foul spirits have no power. 1781Cowper Expostulation 213 Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, As richest soil the most luxuriant weeds. 1817Coleridge Sibyl. Leaves (1862) 216 Beneath the foulest mother's curse No child could ever thrive. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. 267 Aristophanes must stand convicted..of the foulest motives. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 60 A court foul with all the vices of the Restoration.
ellipt.1788Picken Poems 81 O' a' the Nine, the foul a ane [= devil a one] Inspiris like thee.
†b. Guilty of a charge or accusation; criminally implicated. Obs. Cf. clean a. 4 b.
a1300[see clean a. 4 b]. 1575Churchyard Chippes (1817) 194, I must..Prooue foule, or cleane, and by my peeres be tried. c1575Balfour Practicks (1754) 611 Efter the offendar be anis fund foul of the first offence. 1621H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 36 Twedy is very fowle in this buissines.
8. Of speech, etc.: Filthy, obscene; also, disgustingly abusive.
a1000Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 458 Obscæne, þære fulan. c1450Grosseteste's Househ. Stat. in Babees Bk. 330 That they be-haue them selfe honestly, with-out stryffe, fowle⁓spekyng, and noyse. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 15 Beware that..ther escape out of your mouth noo foule wordes. c1530H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture 107 in Babees Bk. 74 Foule speech deserues a double hate. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 50 The bold Semiramis..her fowle reproches spoke. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 309 In foule mouth..To call him villaine. 1757Affect. Narr. Wager 32 He poured out a deal of foul Language. 1833H. Martineau 3 Ages ii. 47 The..gentlemen present had..set the fiddlers..to sing all the foul songs. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales I. 145 If you don't stop that foul mouth of yours, I'll [etc.]. 1852C. M. Yonge Cameos I. xii. 80 Keep..your foul tongue to yourself.
9.
†a. Of persons: Ceremonially unclean. Of food: Defiling, not fit for use. Obs.
c1000ælfric Judg. xiii. 4 Ne naht fules ne þicᵹe! c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 41 So foule men schuld noȝt comme in to so haly place.
b. In mod. use applied to fish at or immediately after spawning. Cf. clean a. 5 b.
†c. See quot., and cf. clean a. 5 d; also foul-cut in C. 6.
1811Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 212 A foul horse—not a complete gelding.
†10. Of language, diction: Incorrect, inelegant. Obs.—1 Cf. fair a. 4, clean a. 7 a.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 8627 To my sawe blame may be leyde For foule englysshe.
III. Opposed to fair a.
11. a. Of persons and material objects: Ugly. Now rare in literary use, but in many (midl. and north.) dialects the current sense. Cf. fair a. 1 a.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 265 And if that she be foul thou seist, that she Coveiteth every man that she may se. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 54 Thenne tok ich hede, Whether the frut were faire other foul to loken on. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. ii. 58 These pepyns myght nought kyndely sprynge to a fayre appeltree but to fowle buskes and wylde. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour G vij, Soone after another [sone] they hadde whiche was fowle and lame. 1509York Manual (Surtees) 27 For fayrer for fouler. 1533Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell (1829) 225 He hath made a foul hole in his kinsmans best coat. 1568Tilney Disc. Mariage E vij, Daylie we maye see a foule deformed woman, that [etc.]. 1583Hollyband Campo di Fior 15 Thou callest me fowle [Fr. laide, It. brutta] wenche. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 53 Hee was set upon a foule lean cammell. 1604Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 141. 1607 ― Timon iv. iii. 28. 1616 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. i. 10 None could be foule esteem'd compar'd with her. 1836Emerson Nature, Beauty Wks. (Bohn) II. 145 There is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful. 1841Trench Parables xii. (1877) 232 He loved her foul, that He might make her fair.
b. Of a part of an animal: ? Ill-shaped. ? Obs.
1688Lond. Gaz. No. 2336/8 Lost..a middle-siz'd Fleet-Hound Bitch, very strong made..a foul stern. 1703Ibid. 3881/4 Stolen..a thick punching Horse..a little white on one of his Heels, and a foul Head. [1765: cf. 20 a.]
†c. Unattractive, poor in quality. Obs.
1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xv. 9 What was foule and nothinge worth, that they damned. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 359 Let vs (like Merchants) show our fowlist Wares, And thinke, perchance, they'l sell.
†d. Of the face: Disfigured by distress or tears.
c1400Destr. Troy 8507 Thies fellyn hym to fete with a foule chere. 1611Bible Job xvi. 16 My face is fowle with weeping.
12. Of sounds: Ugly, disagreeable. Now dial.
(Common in north midlands). Cf. fair a. 2.
c1440York Myst. xxxi. 320 O! ȝe make a foule noyse for þe nonys. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 274 The Genowayes..made another leape and a foule crie. 1606Holland Sueton. 81 The Frogges..chaunced to make a foule noyse.
13. a. Disgraceful, ignominious, shameful. Cf. 7.
a1300Cursor M. 7829 (Gött.) A fouler dede þan ani may driue. c1400Apol. Loll. 55 Þe Son of God wold be condempnid to fowlist deþ. c1420Sir Amadace (Camd.) ii, Thenne made I a fulle fowle ende! 1529More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1213/2 Thys vngracious secte of Mahomette, shall haue a fowle fall. 1559Mirr. Mag., Northumberland xi, This fowle despite did cause vs to conspire. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 197 Haue you conspir'd..To baite me with this foule derision? 1659D. Pell Impr. Sea 605 This is a foul blot in the Sailors Scutchion. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 144, I should be glad..to acquit the college..of this foul charge. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xv, A letter forged!.. Did ever knight so foul a deed!
b. Revolting, disgusting. slang.
1911D. Coke Wilson's vi. 59, I was stopping somebody making a foul row. 1930A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxi, ‘Hullo, Gordon! My dear, it's a foul night. Arctic!’ She shivered charmingly. 1930Punch 20 Aug. 200/1 ‘How foul!’ I said... ‘How dare the creature long to meet me!’ 1963‘J. le Carré’ Spy who came in fr. Cold xxv. 212 Mundt won. London won—that's the point. It was a foul, foul operation. But it's paid off, and that's the only rule.
14. Sporting and Games. Contrary to rule or established custom, irregular, unfair; said also of the player. foul ball (Baseball): a ball struck so that it falls outside the lines drawn from the home base through the first and third bases. Cf. fair a. 10.
1797Sporting Mag. IX. 283 His antagonist having struck him two foul blows. a1861Mrs. Browning Last Poems, Garibaldi i, Perhaps that was not a foul trick. 1882Field 28 Jan. (Cassell), Thus, at billiards, if a player makes a foul stroke and scores, his adversary has the option of not enforcing the penalty. 1882Sydney Slang Dict. 4/1 Foul-riding, boring a competitor against the rails. 1892J. Kent Ld. G. Bentinck ii. 48 Colonel Leigh..accused Sam Chifney of foul riding.
b. esp. in foul play: unfair conduct in a game; transf. unfair or treacherous dealing, often with the additional notion of roughness or violence: see 17. So also † foul player. Cf. fair-play, fair a. 10 c.
[Cf.c1440in 17.] 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 289 Foule gamesters, who hauing lost the maine..thinke to face it out with a false oath. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 58 What fowle play had we, that we came from thence? c1672Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) I. 383 Supposing..that Dr. Thomas Jones..would act foul play in the election. 1674tr. Scheffer's Lapland 109 To strike the ball with their bandies over the others line (for it is foul play to fling it with their hands). Ibid., Any one that is found delinquent in this kind, is branded for a fowl plaier. 1737M. Green Spleen (1738) 21 And when he can't prevent foul-play, Enjoys the folly of the fray. 1814Sporting Mag. XLIV. 241 After the fifteenth round ‘Foul play!’ was loudly called. 1825Lytton Zicci 5 There can be no foul play at the public tables. 1887Rider Haggard Jess xxii, At any rate that does not look like foul play.
c. † Of a return: Fraudulent (obs.). Also, in foul loss: see quot. 1848.
1685Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 341 Foul returns [of elections] made in many places. 1848Arnould Mar. Insur. (1866) II. iii. ix. 1004 If after a loss has been paid, the underwriter discovers that there was fraud, misrepresentation or concealment..such payment is familiarly termed in insurance law a foul loss.
†d. foul honesty: (? an oxymoron) false pretence of honesty. Obs.
1550Hooper Serm. on Jonas iii. 40 b, Then washeth he hys handes with as much foule honestie as he can.
15. Of the weather, etc.: Unfavourable; wet and stormy. Cf. fair a. 12.
c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 101 Foule wedir and coold. a1541Wyatt in Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry (1840) III. xxxviii. 47 In foule wether at my booke to sit. 1595Shakes. John iv. ii. 108 So foule a skie cleres not without a storme. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 9 And att night wee had foule weather. 1661Pepys Diary 19 Apr., It being so foule that I could not go to Whitehall. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. xiii, A very foul Night it was after it. 1776Adam Smith W.N. i. x. (1869) I. 107 A mason..can work neither in hard frost nor in foul weather. 1865Parkman Champlain iii. (1875) 228 For labor or amusement in foul weather.
16. Of the wind: Contrary, unfavourable.
1726G. Roberts 4 Years' Voy. 3 Untoward Weather, as well as a foul Wind. 1795Nelson 22 May in Nicolas Disp. II. 39 Continued foul winds..from the day of our sailing. 1883S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 300 The packet could not sail in the teeth of a foul wind.
17. Of a means or procedure, and of language: Harsh, rough, violent. Cf. fair a. 15.
c1440Gesta Rom. lx. 248 (Harl. MS.), Tristing in himselfe that the lion wolde have I-made a foule pleye withe þe lorde & withe þe lady. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 573 Foul words and frowns must not repel a lover. 1608Yorksh. Trag. i. vii, A fouler strength than his O'erthrew me with his arms. 1639T. Brugis tr. Camus' Moral Relat. 171 He would not have gathered by faire meanes or foule, that which he so impatiently desired. 1659D. Pell Impr. Sea 79 Some of you get foul checks. 1704[see fair a. 15]. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Aristocracy Wks. II. 85 War is a foul game.
18. Naut., opposed to clear: ‘Entangled, embarrassed, or contrary to’ (Adm. Smyth). Const. of, † on. to fall, run foul of: see the vbs. foul berth, foul hawse: see quot. 1867.
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiii. 61 We are fowle on each other, and the ship is on fire. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. x. 303 She..coming foul of the same shole..was in great danger of being lost. 1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 115 In weighing the Grapenel..we found it foul among some Rocks. 1748Anson's Voy. i. i. 10 And we were in no small danger of driving foul of the Prince Frederick. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Tour de cable, a foul hawse; a turn or elbow in the hawse. 1822G. W. Manby Voy. Greenland (1823) 13 A small axe to cut away the line, in case of its getting foul when running out. 1829Marryat F. Mildmay xxiii, Topsail-tie is foul. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast vii. 16 We [the ship] were continually swinging round, and had thus got a very foul hawse. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foul Berth, when a ship anchors in the hawse of another she gives the latter a foul berth. Foul Hawse, when a vessel is riding with two anchors out, and the cables are crossed round each other outside the stem, by the swinging of the ship when moored in a tide-way.
b. foul anchor: see quot. 1769. Also, the badge of the British Admiralty.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Foul Anchor: it is so called when it..hooks some other anchor, wreck, or cable..or when..the ship..straying round the bed of her anchor entangles her slack cable about the upper fluke of it. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xiii. 31 On one of his broad arms he had the crucifixion, and on the other the sign of the ‘foul anchor’. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 203 Put a foul-anchor strop round the crown.
19. Of a charge of powder.
1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 9 If the rocket rises a little, and falls back, the charge is foul.
IV.
20. Comb. a. parasynthetic, as foul-aired, foul-browed, foul-faced, foul-minded (hence foulmindedness), foul-thighed, foul-tongued, foul-vizored. Also foul-mouthed.
1883Century Mag. XXVI. 213 The whole place unclean and *foul-aired.
1610Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 765 The holy..servants of the true God live in this *foule⁓browed world.
16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. i. (Arb.) 7 Then *foule faced Vice was in his swadling bands.
1849Kingsley Poetry Sacr. & Leg. Art Misc. I. 244 Every form of prudish and prurient *foulmindedness.
1765Treat. Dom. Pigeons 95 Let it [another colour] fall here, or on any other part of the thigh, it is called *foul-thigh'd.
1549Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. iii. 8 *Foule tounged people.
1608Machin Dumb Knight i. i, *Foule vizard coynes.
b. in attrib. (quasi-adj.) uses of foul weather (sense 15); also foul-weather-like adj.
1768Wales in Phil. Trans. LX. 108 Over these they have a kind of foul-weather jacket. c1793Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) I. 75, I don't care a stale chaw of tobacco for the foul-weather looks of any fair-weather Jack in the three kingdoms. 1837Marryat Dog-fiend xii, He remained in his..foul-weather hat. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §275 The sky began to look foul-weather-like.
B. n. [The adj. used absol. or elliptically.]
1. That which is foul (in senses of the adj.): something foul. for foul nor fair: on no account, by no means. For foul befall see note on fair n.2 1.
a900Halsuncge in Sweet O.E. Texts 176 Ðis mon..scal reda ofer ða feta ðe ful infalleð. a1000Elene 769 Þæs he in ermðum sceal ealra fula ful fah þrowian. c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 525 But what she was, she wold no man seye For foul ne fair. c1400Sowdone Bab. 199 And foule shal hem this day bifalle. 1430Lydg. Chron. Troy i. v, All the foule shall couertly be wryed. c1470Henry Wallace i. 430 Foule mot yow fall. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. iv. in Ashm. (1652) 47 Foule and cleane by naturall lawe Hath greate discord. 1594J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 54 Foule fall the wagge that lost so rare a iewell. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 7 Foul befal the man who ever lays a snare in its way!
Prov.a1661Fuller Worthies, Cheshire i. (1662) 177 Frost and Fraud both end in Foul.
2. A disease in the feet of cattle and sheep. Also, a disease in dogs (see quot. 1854). Cf. file n.2 6 b.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §63 There be bestes, that wyll haue the foule and that is betwene the cleese, sometyme before, and some tyme behynde, and it wyll swell, and cause hym to halt. 1614Markham Cheap Husb. ii. xxiii. (1668) 79 Troubled with that disease which is called the Foule. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 315 What the Cow-Leeches term the Foul in a Cow's Foot. 1810Ann. Reg. 629, I have had them disordered in the feet with the fouls, but not the foot⁓rot. 1854E. Mayhew Dogs (1861) 114 Foul is not one disease, but an accumulation of disorders, brought on by the absence of exercise, with a stimulating diet.
3. a. (In sense partly derived from foul v.) A collision or entanglement, esp. in riding, rowing, running, etc.; an irregular stroke, piece of play, etc. to claim a foul: to claim a favourable award because of unfair action on the part of an opponent. In Baseball: A foul hit: see A. 14.
1754Dict. Arts & Sc. II. 1311 Foul imports, also, the running of one ship against another. 1864Home News 19 Dec. 21/2 Coombes..boring his opponent too closely to the shore, a foul occurred. 1867F. Francis Angling v. (1880) 150 The drop will fall over the stretcher, and a foul will be the consequence. 1873Bennett Billiards 480 The player who made the foul must follow suit. 189.Billiard Rules xix, A player may claim a foul if he sees his opponent touch a ball..(except with his cue, when making a stroke).
b. foul-up: a state of muddle or confusion. orig. U.S.
1953‘S. Ransome’ Drag Dark (1954) vii. 69, I couldn't judge how far I could rely on you to find the way out of this foul-up. 1958‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 30 Second weapon to be used if there's any foul up with the first. 1967Observer 14 May 2/8 He traces the foul-up back to 1953.
C. adv. [In early ME. fule, foule, f. the adj. with advb. ending -e; after 14th c. not distinguished in form from the adj.]
†1. In a manner offensive to the sense of smell.
c1200Ormin 1201 Gat iss..Gal deor, and stinnkeþþ fule. c1275XI Pains of Hell 123 in O.E. Misc. 150 Þe stude..stinkeþ fulre þane þe hund. a1300Cursor M. 18147 Þou hell, sua fule stinkand thing. c1340Ibid. 6353 (Trin.) Þe wattres þat so foule stank. 1563W. Fulke Meteors (1640) 67 b, Lead also, which maketh it to bee in colour so black and so fowle to corrupt.
†2. In an ugly manner. to fare foul: To behave in an unseemly way, ‘go on’ outrageously.
a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 155 Y frounced foule was hir visage. a1400–50Alexander 4082 Wemen..Þat frely faire ware of face bot foule ware clethid. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 484 Scho..To-rente hyre clothes and foule ferde. c1450Merlin 116 Foule were thei skorched with the fier.
†3. Disgracefully, shamefully. Obs. to call (a person) foul: to call by a bad name. Obs.
c1275Doomsday 48 in O.E. Misc. 164 So fule he [þe cwed] vs blende. c1325Poem temp. Edw. II (Percy) lxi, He shal be foul afrounted. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 179 And þou hast famed me foule bifore the kyng heer. 1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1307 Dido, Ye wil nat fro your wyf thus foule fleen? c1386― Pars. T. ⁋741 He leseth foule his good þat ne seketh with the yifte of his good no thyng but synne. c1430How Wise Man tauȝt his Son 100 in Babees Bk. 51 To calle hir foule it is þi schame. a1450Knt. de la Tour 13 [In confession] ye shulde telle the synne as foule as ye do it, and in the same manere. c1450Merlin 12 Hir bewte was foule spente, seth it was loste in soche manere. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. ii. 44 Ile haue this Crown of mine cut from my shoulders, Before Ile see the Crowne so foule mis-plac'd.
4.
†a. Badly, ill, grievously. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 108 Heo is a grucchild, & ful itowen. c1340Cursor M. 1639 (Trin.) Þe erþe wiþ synne is foul shent. 1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1061 They..foule abate the folkes prys. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 472 Selden falle thei so foule..As clerkes of holikirke. c1400Rom. Rose 2655 Than shalt thou goon, ful foule aferd. 1426W. Paston in P. Lett. No. 7 I. 26, I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem. c1460Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 114 Ille spon weft, I wys, ay commys foulle owte. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 23 Two of three her nephews are so fowle forlorne.
b. Not in the correct or regular manner.
1683Lond. Gaz. No. 1840/4 [He] trots and gallops foul. 1686Ibid. No. 2136/4 Stolen or stray'd..a red roan Gelding..trots foul..cuts behind. 1715Ibid. No. 5331/4 Carries his Tail foul. 1884Western Daily Press 16 Apr. 7/2 A well-known..amateur..in spurring his first bird fastened the spur on ‘foul’, the result being that the first blow it made cut its own throat.
5. Unfairly; contrary to the rules of the game. Also fig. in to play (a person) foul: to deal treacherously with.
1707Reflex. upon Ridicule 261 You are fond of Gaming and you Play foul. 1755Young Centaur 105 He that plays foul the most dexterously is sure to be undone. 1799Nelson 17 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. IV. 60 Our Allies have..played us foul.
6. Comb., as foul-feeding, foul-reeking, foul-smelling, foul-spoken adjs.; also foul-biting n. (see quot.); foul-cut a., imperfectly gelded (cf. foul a. 9 c); foul-hooked a., of a fish, hooked anywhere on the body except in the mouth.
1822J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 429 Otherwise you will have parts bit that were not intended, which is called *foul-biting.
1811Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 213 It was a *foul-cut horse.
1634Bp. Hall Serm. Rom. xii. 2. Wks. II. 301 There is an appetitus caninus, that..falls upon unmeet and *foule-feeding morsels. 1684Otway Atheist i. i, The dirty Dugs of a foul-feeding Witch.
1898Westm. Gaz. 6 Oct. 4/2 Without doubt this fish was *foul-hooked, though it was surely a heavy one. 1959Cape Times 9 Mar. 3/6 Galjoen, haarders, and white steenbras, most of which were foul hooked, were landed. 1971Country Life 11 Mar. 533/3 If there is a fish in the run, casts subsequent to the first will tend to fall across it and disturb it, if indeed it is not pricked or foul-hooked.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 799 O night, thou furnace of *foul-reeking smoke.
1869E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 55 In the case of any *foul-smelling or suspected water.
1588Shakes. Tit. A. ii. i. 58 *Foule spoken Coward That thundrest with thy tongue. 1848Hare Guesses Ser. ii. (1873) 527 They who are too fairspoken before you, are likely to be foulspoken behind you.
▸ foul lane n. Basketball = free-throw lane n. at free throw n. Compounds.
1911Chicago Daily Tribune 31 Jan. 16/5 For violation of the rules forbidding a player to enter the *foul lane while a free throw is being made..the goal if made shall not count. 2002Sporting News 10 June 51/1 The rules committee's experiment with an NBA-width foul lane, which..would open up room for offensive movement.
▸ foul shot n. Basketball = free throw n.
1905N.Y. Times 5 Mar. 13/1 Had Ritschy been able to place the ball accurately the Brooklyn boys would have come off with the victory on *foul shots alone. 1994Sports Illustr. 7 Nov. 178/1 It's bad enough that everyone but the ball boy gives a player a high five after he makes a foul shot.
▪ II. foul, v.1|faʊl|
[In form repr. OE. fúlian intr. = OHG. fûlôn (MHG. vûlen, mod.G. faulen). In the trans. use, which begins in the 14th c, it may be regarded as a new formation; cf. file v.2, to which the early ME. fulen trans. belongs.]
1. a. intr. To be foul, become foul.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. (Sweet 21) Ðær licᵹað þa deadan men swa lange and ne fuliað. c1000Ags. Ps. (Th.) xxxvii[i]. 5 Mine wunda rotedan and fuledon. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 37 Sume men ladeð here lif on etinge and on drinkinge alse swin, þe uulieð. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 269 So ferly fowled her flesch þat þe fende loked, How [etc.]. 1691T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 41 So apt to foul, or difficult to clean as Wood. 1858Greener Gunnery 400 Prince's breech⁓loader..fouls in the proportion of at least 3 to 1 more.
b. Also with up.
1922D. H. Lawrence England, my England 238 He could smell the cold, rotten clay that fouled up into the water. 1960E. L. Delmar-Morgan Cruising Yacht Equip. & Navig. xii. 146 Tendency of a two-stroke to ‘oil up’ or to ‘foul up’.
2. a. trans. To render (materially) foul, filthy, or dirty; to destroy the cleanness or purity of; = defile v.1 2, file v.2 1.
c1420Chron. Vilod. 937 Lest þt holy plase wt þat blod y folud shuld be. c1440J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. v. 1594 It is neyther wurshipful ne honest On-to mankeende to foule soo his nest. c1450Bk. Curtasye 110 in Babees Bk. 302 To foule þe borde clothe with þi knyfe. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 177 He yt hath a precyous..garment, wyll be loth to..foule it. 1611Bible Ezek. xxxiv. 19 They drinke that which yee haue fouled with your feete. 1683Tryon Way to Health 303 A close heavy substance..that fouls and makes the blood thick and gross. 1705Oliver in Phil. Trans. XXV. 2181 'Tis farther observable, he never foul'd his Bed. a1745Swift Wks. (1841) II. 355 The waiting maid..fouls a smock more in one hour, than the kitchen maid does in a week. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 141 It fouls itself with a pale ochrous sediment. 1865Kingsley Herew. II. xxii. 368 Any more than the wolf would forgive the lamb for fouling the water below him. 1883Manch. Exam. 20 Nov. 5/5 Manchester gas is fouled by sulphur compounds.
b. absol. To cause filth or dirt, to drop ordure.
1483Caxton G. de la Tour G v, It fortuned that the swalowe dyd fowle within the eyen of Thobye. 1814J. Gilchrist Reason 56 Thus they croaked, and crawled, and spawned, and fouled.
3. fig. and in immaterial sense. To defile or pollute (with guilt); to dishonour, disgrace.
a1300Cursor M. 10637 (Gött.) To saule þat fowlid was in sinne. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 137 Leste þe Fend and heore flesch fouleden heore soules. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 264 Many þenken þei [þe freres] ben heretikes and foulen men þat maynteynen hem. c1440Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 297 For venyall synnes þat foulyth vs yche day. 1581Savile Tacitus' Hist. i. xlii. 41 Fouling his infamous life with a slow and dishonest departing. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. 14 He careth not to be filthy still..and to fowle..all that come in his companie. 1748Chesterfield Lett. (1792) II. cxxxix. 372 Your Commensaux, who..foul themselves with..scoundrel gamesters. 1791Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 15 With hands not fouled with confiscation. 1862Goulburn Pers. Relig. iii. x. (1873) 241 Whose imaginations have been fouled of evil. 1870Morris Earthly Par. I. ii. 621 No weariness of good shall foul thy name.
†b. To throw discredit on. Obs.
c1440Gesta Rom. xvii. 62 (Add. MS.) The new lawe that he made, and fowled [v.r. fylid] not the other.
†c. To violate the chastity of, debauch. Obs.—1
1607Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. iii. Wks. 1878 II. 33 Sweare me to foule my sister!
d. Also with up: to spoil, (cause) to bungle or muddle (something or someone). Chiefly U.S.
1947Harper's Mag. May 425/1 ‘Wing Ding’ has a tricky opening where the sax and trumpet play against each other, accenting different beats... Sparrow came in a beat late, fouling it up. 1950‘S. Ransome’ Deadly Miss Ashley xii. 143 It would foul us up for fair this time. 1951J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye ix. 80 Boy, I really fouled that up. 1954J. & W. Hawkins Death Watch (1959) ii. 55, I got all fouled up in the chain of command. 1958S. Ellin Eighth Circle (1959) ii. ix. 100 You've got fine bone structure, but look at the way you're fouling it up. 1971N. Freeling Over High Side iii. 201 Everybody still has their mouth far too close to the utterly fouled-up microphone.
4. To make ugly (see foul a. 11); to deface, disfigure, spoil the look of.
a1340Hampole Psalter iv. 7 Swa to foule þis ymage [of God] þt it kan noght knaw til whas lycnynge it is made. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 309 Kammokes and wedes Fouleth þe fruite in þe felde þere þei growe togyderes. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 23 So was the wiff fouled and maymed alle her lyff. 1557Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 158 He..fowlth with haile the winters face. 1884Browning Ferishtah (1885) 25 The cloud, which fouled so late Thy face.
5. Chiefly Naut. Cf. foul a. 18.
a. To cause (an anchor, a cable) to become entangled. Also, To jam or block, render immovable or incapable of working; to make (a sea bottom) ‘foul’ or obstructed.
1726G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 401 'Tis generally said, That the West-of-England-men fouled this Bay, by heaving their Stone Ballast over-board in it. 1827Hood Sailor's Apol. ii, 'Twas all along of Poll, as I may say, That fouled my cable, when I ought to slip. 1835Marryat Pirate viii, See that she does not foul her anchor. 1885Manch. Exam. 17 Jan. 5/4 The Manchester express..ran into a mineral train by which the line was fouled. 1892Law Times Rep. LXV. 590/1 A ship..fouled her propellor. 1895Daily News 9 Sept. 3/3 Station him at the east..section of the Circus to prevent the traffic from east to west ‘fouling’ the crossing.
fig.1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xiv, His luck's got fouled under the keels of the barges.
b. intr. To get foul; to become entangled. Also (chiefly U.S.) fig. with up.
1857P. Colquhoun Comp. Oarsman's Guide 32 To foul, or get foul, is to get entangled. 1860C. Harrold in Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 173 The chain fouled on the windlass. 1867F. Francis Angling v. (1880) 166 He will be perpetually fouling in the branches. 1957P. Frank Seven Days to Never (1959) viii. iv. 184 Somewhere in his career he had fouled up. 1958‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 16 A man marked for high rank..if he did not foul up on the way.
c. trans. To run foul of, collide with.
1859Guardian 2 Mar. 195 In attempting to make the harbour [she]..fouled the pier. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. ii. (1889) 16 He managed..to get into Iffley lock on the way up without fouling the gates. 1868Kinglake Crimea (1877) IV. xiii. 389 Her jib-boom fouled the jib-boom of the Agamemnon. 1875W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 125 Keep to the left, or you'll foul me.
6. Sporting and Games. Cf. foul a. 14. To handle or strike an opponent in a ‘foul’ manner.
b. Baseball. To hit a foul ball. to foul out: to be caught ‘out’ from a foul ball.
Hence ˈfouling ppl. a. Also ˈfouler, one that fouls or makes dirty.
a1050Liber Scintill. ix. (1889) 45 Fuliᵹendum limum. 1630J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise cleane Linen 13 Wks. ii. 166 Prayers for the cleane amendment of all foulers of Linnen. 1896Daily Chron. 23 Mar. 3/2 Ridding our soot-charged passages of the fouling stuff.
▪ III. † foul, fowle, v.2 Obs.
[a. F. fouler to tread, trample, press. Cf. full v., foil v.1]
trans. To trample, tread, tread down.
a1400–50Alexander 4681 And be þar gold in oure gate..We do bot foulis it with oure fete. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 24 b/2 The presse I have torned and fowled all allone. a1533Ld. Berners Huon cxl. 524 The countre is sore fowllyd and opressyd. 1643Prynne Popish R. Fav. 46 He caused the Image of the Crosse to be redressed, and that men should not foule it under their feete. |