foreign
Etymology

From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus, from Latin forās, also spelled 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).

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈfɒɹɪn/, /ˈfɒɹən/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈfɔɹɪn/, /ˈfɔɹən/, /ˈfɑɹɪn/
  • (New York City, Philadelphia) IPA: /ˈfɑɹɪn/
  • (Australia) IPA: /ˈfɔɹən/
Adjective

foreign

  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
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Ayrsham Mystery ↗”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC ↗; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831 ↗, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      The cane was undoubtedly of foreign make, for it had a solid silver ferrule at one end, which was not English hall–marked.
    There are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started.
  3. Relating to a different nation.
    foreign policy; foreign navies
  4. Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
    foreign body; foreign substance; foreign gene; foreign species
  5. (with to, formerly with from) Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
    It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.
    • 1708 December 15 (Gregorian calendar; date written), [Jonathan Swift], A Letter from a Member of the House of Commons in Ireland to a Member of the House of Commons in England, Concerning the Sacramental Test, London: […] John Morphew […], published 1709, →OCLC ↗, page 14 ↗:
      [T]his deſign is not ſo foreign from ſome Peoples Thoughts, […]
  6. (obsolete) Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.
    • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene ii]:
      Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died.
  7. (US, state legal) From a different one of the states of the United States, as of a state of residence or incorporation.
  8. Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
    My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM.
  9. (obsolete) Outside, outdoors, outdoor.
Synonyms Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “from a different country”): domestic
  • (antonym(s) of “not characteristic”): native
  • (antonym(s) of “native to an area”): indigenous
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

foreign (plural foreigns)

  1. A foreign person, particularly:
    1. (now informal) A foreigner: a person from another country.
    2. (obsolete) An outsider: a person from another place or group.
    3. (obsolete) A non-guildmember.
  2. A foreign vehicle, particularly:
    1. (obsolete) A foreign ship.
    2. (slang) A foreign whip, a car produced abroad.
  3. (obsolete) An outhouse; an outdoor toilet.
    Synonyms: Thesaurus:bathroom
  4. A foreign area, particularly:
    1. (now dialect) An area of a community that lies outside the legal town or parish limits.
    2. (obsolete, usually, in the plural) An area of a monastery outside its legal limits or serving as an outer court.
  5. Short for various phrases, including foreign language, foreign parts, and foreign service.



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