foreign
adjectivenouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈfɒɹɪn//
- United Kingdom//ˈfɒɹən//
- United States//ˈfɔɹɪn//
Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
adjective
- 1
Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
foreign markets; foreign soil
He liked visiting foreign cities.
- 2
Originating from, characteristic of, belonging to, or being a citizen of a country or place other than the one under discussion.
foreign car; foreign word; foreign citizen; foreign trade
There are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started.
The cane was undoubtedly of foreign make, for it had a solid silver ferrule at one end, which was not English hall–marked.
Foreign companies love to complain about doing business in China.[…]Amid such moans it is worth remembering that, for all the barriers that foreign multinationals face in China, it has welcomed them with open arms compared with the protectionism imposed by Japan and South Korea at comparable stages in their economic development.
- 3
Relating to a different nation.
foreign policy; foreign navies
Plus, the Department of Justice has argued in the past that SGEs are subject to the emoluments clause, which means they cannot take payments from foreign governments.
- 4
Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
foreign body; foreign substance; foreign gene; foreign species
- 5
Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.
[T]his deſign is not ſo foreign from ſome Peoples Thoughts, […]
- 6
obsoleteHeld at a distance; excluded; exiled.
Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died.
- 7
From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country.
- 8
Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM.
- 9
obsoleteOutside, outdoors, outdoor.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *dʰworéh₂ Proto-Italic *þworā Proto-Italic *fworā Proto-Italic *forā Latin *fora Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂der. Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ns Proto-Italic *-ans Latin -ās Latin forās Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Proto-Indo-European *dʰwer- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *dʰwṓr Proto-Italic *θworeis < *θworis Latin forīs < foris ▲ Latin -ānus Vulgar Latin *forānus Old French forainbor. ▲ Middle English ferinflu. Middle English foreyn ▲ English reigninflu.? English foreign From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).
noun
- 1
informalA foreign person A foreigner: a person from another country.
The messaging instructions come in two sets: one for domestics, another for the foreigns.
- 2
obsoleteA foreign person An outsider: a person from another place or group.
- 3
obsoleteA foreign person A non-guildmember.
- 4
obsoleteA foreign vehicle A foreign ship.
- 5
slangA foreign vehicle A foreign whip, a car produced abroad.
In the foreign switching lanes and we riding […] A island I wanna live somewhere silent I'm shining I'm bout to flood my neck with diamonds Yeah I've been spitting facts these niggas lying I'm driving stolens, foreigns, yeah I'm riding
- 6
obsoleteAn outhouse; an outdoor toilet.
- 7
A foreign area An area of a community that lies outside the legal town or parish limits.
- 8
obsoleteA foreign area An area of a monastery outside its legal limits or serving as an outer court.
- 9
Variant of various phrasesShort for various phrases, including foreign language, foreign parts, and foreign service.
Forms
- plural
- foreigns
- comparative
- more foreign
- superlative
- most foreign
foreign · Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
foreigner · A person from a foreign country.foreman · A workplace leader. The leader of a work crew.Foreman · A surname originating as an occupation for someone who was…