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).

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

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.

• (from a different country) overseas, international
• (strange) alien, fremd
• (in a place where it does not belong) extraneous

• (antonym(s) of “from a different country”): domestic
• (antonym(s) of “not characteristic”): native
• (antonym(s) of “native to an area”): indigenous

• French: étranger
• German: fremd, ausländisch
• Italian: estraneo, estranea straniero
• Portuguese: estrangeiro
• Russian: иностра́нный
• Spanish: extraño, extranjero, foraño, forano

• French: étranger, étrangère
• German: ausländisch, fremd
• Italian: straniero, straniera
• Portuguese: estrangeiro
• Russian: иностра́нный
• Spanish: extranjero, forastero, foráneo

• Portuguese: estrangeiro, exterior
• Russian: вне́шний
• Spanish: extranjero, exterior

• Portuguese: estranho
• Russian: иноро́дный
• Spanish: extraño

• Portuguese: estranho
• Russian: чу́ждый

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

   • 1303, Richard Mannyng, Handlyng Synne, l. 7436 f:

     Ful foule ys þat forreyne
     Þat ys comoun for al certeyne.

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.