| 释义 |
foil
I. \ˈfȯil, esp before pause or consonant -ȯiəl\ transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English foilen to trample, full (cloth), modification of Middle French fouler — more at full
1. obsolete : to tread under foot : trample
2. : to spoil (a trail or scent) by crossing or retracing
3.
a. : to prevent (a person) from attaining a desired end : keep from achieving a goal : defeat, repulse
< foiled at Council Bluffs … they turned toward the southwest — R.A.Billington >
b. : to bring (as a scheme, an effort, an attack) to naught : make vain and ineffectual : baffle
< intelligence as a means to foil brute force — Lafcadio Hearn >
Synonyms: see frustrate
II. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English foyle, from foilen, v.
1. archaic : defeat, check, frustration
2. obsolete : an incomplete fall in wrestling
3. also foil·ing \ˈfȯiliŋ\ archaic : the track or trail of an animal
4.
a. : a fencing weapon that resembles an épée but has a flat guard which may be round, oval, rectangular, or figure-eight in outline and a lighter and more flexible blade of rectangular or square cross section tapering to a blunt point
b. foils plural : the art or practice of fencing with foils that limits the target to the trunk
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English foile, foil, from Middle French fuelle, fueille, foille (from Latin folia, plural of folium) & fuel, fueil, foil, from Latin folium — more at blade
1. : a plant leaf — now used chiefly in compounds; compare sexfoil, trefoil
2.
a. : one of several small curved indentations that meet and form points or cusps; specifically : an indentation between cusps in Gothic tracery
b. : one of several arcs that enclose a complex figure
< the rim of a tray having eight foils >
3. obsolete
a. : a leaf of paper
b. : counterfoil
4.
a. : a paper-thin material : tissue; especially : very thin metal for such purposes as providing decorative covering or moistureproof lining or wrapping
b. : a thin coat of tin or silver laid on the back of a looking glass to cause reflection
c. or foil paper : metallic paper 3
5.
a. obsolete : the setting of a jewel
b. : a thin piece of metal or other material put under a paste or inferior stone to add color or brilliancy
6. : something that serves by contrast of color or quality to set off another to advantage or sometimes to disadvantage
< everything was animated and gay … the men in their black coats were an admirable foil — Victoria Sackville-West >
< an artist and an intellectual, a foil for her sentimental mother — B.R.Redman >
< acting as a foil for a stage comedian >
IV. transitive verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
1. : to back or cover with foil
2. : to enhance or set off by contrast
V. noun
: hydrofoil |