Foil

Foil
Foil Foil, n. [OE. foil leaf, OF. foil, fuil, fueil, foille, fueille, F. feuille, fr. L. folium, pl. folia; akin to Gr. ?, and perh. to E. blade. Cf. {Foliage}, {Folio}.] 1. A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin foil; gold foil. [1913 Webster]

2. (Jewelry) A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones. --Ure. [1913 Webster]

3. Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to adorn or set off another thing to advantage. [1913 Webster]

As she a black silk cap on him began To set, for foil of his milk-white to serve. --Sir P. Sidney. [1913 Webster]

Hector has a foil to set him off. --Broome. [1913 Webster]

4. A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of a looking-glass, to cause reflection. [1913 Webster]

5. (Arch.) The space between the cusps in Gothic architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows, niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil, quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of arcs of which it is composed. [1913 Webster]

{Foil stone}, an imitation of a jewel or precious stone. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
, , , , , , , / , , (of metal) / , , /


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Foil — may refer to:Materials: * Metal leaf, a thin sheet of metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Plastic foil, a thin layer of plastics Fluid Mechanics: * Foil (fluid mechanics), a type of wing or blade used to provide lift * Foil… …   Wikipedia

  • Foil — Foil, n. 1. Failure of success when on the point of attainment; defeat; frustration; miscarriage. Milton. [1913 Webster] Nor e er was fate so near a foil. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Foil — (foil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Foiled} (foild); p. pr. & vb. n. {Foiling}.] [F. fouler to tread or trample under one s feet, to press, oppress. See {Full}, v. t.] 1. To tread under foot; to trample. [1913 Webster] King Richard . . . caused the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • foil — foil1 [foil] vt. [ME foilen < OFr fuler, to trample on, subdue: see FULL2] 1. to keep from being successful; thwart; frustrate 2. Hunting to make (a scent, trail, etc.) confused, as by recrossing, in order to balk the pursuers n. 1. Archaic… …   English World dictionary

  • foil — [ fɔjl ] n. m. • 1979; mot angl. « feuille, lame » ♦ Anglic. Plan porteur équipant les bateaux capables de déjauger. Foils latéraux de l hydroptère. ● foil nom masculin (anglais foil, feuille) Plan porteur inclinable destiné aux embarcations… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • FOIL — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda FOIL es un algoritmo usado en informática en el campo de la inteligencia artificial y más concretamente en el campo de la programación lógica inductiva (ILP) para aprender reglas de la lógica de primer orden que… …   Wikipedia Español

  • foil — Ⅰ. foil [1] ► VERB ▪ prevent the success of. ORIGIN originally in the sense «trample down»: perhaps from Old French fouler to full cloth, trample , from Latin fullo fuller . Ⅱ. foil [2] ► NOUN 1) metal h …   English terms dictionary

  • Foil — Foil, v. t. [See 6th {File}.] To defile; to soil. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • foil — I verb baffle, balk, be obstructive, bring to naught, cause to be nugatory, check, confound, counter, counteract, countermine, cripple, crush, dash, dash one s hopes, defeat, disable, disappoint, disrupt, eludere, frustrate, get in the way of,… …   Law dictionary

  • foil — [n] contrast antithesis, background, complement, counterblow, defense, guard, setting; concept 665 foil [v] circumvent, nip in the bud baffle, balk, beat, bilk, bollix*, buffalo*, check, checkmate, counter, crab, cramp, crimp, curb, dash, defeat …   New thesaurus

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