foxing, vbl. n.
(ˈfɒksɪŋ)
[f. fox v. + -ing1.]
1. The action of the vb., in various senses.
| c 1220 Bestiary 435 And in ure skemting he doð raðe a foxing. 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 43 Foxing is a Misfortune, or rather a Disease in Malt Drinks, occasioned by divers Means. 1868 Chambers' Encycl. I. 809 The sugar in the worts will become partially converted into acetic acid, or, as it is termed, foxing occurs. 1873 N. & Q. Ser. iv. XI. 216 Is there any known means to prevent foxing in books? 1877 Hallock Sportsman's Gaz. 17 With us of the North, foxing is by some followed during..winter. |
2. concr. (See quots. and fox v. 6.)
| 1865 Mrs. Whitney Gayworthys II. 75 Say wore cloth boots, with patent foxings. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 912 Foxing..an outer covering or upper leather over the usual upper. 2. Ornamental strips of a different material on the uppers of shoes. |
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Add: [1.] b. Discoloration of the leaves of a book, etc., by fox-marks. Cf. fox v. 4.
| 1873 N. & Q. 15 Mar. 216 Is there any known means to prevent foxing in books? 1945 Catal. Printed Bks. (Sotheby & Co.) 19 Feb. 13 Mummery (A. F.) My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus, plates, some foxing, half calf, 1895. 1960 K. Amis Take Girl like You xix. 226 He felt like an old book: spine defective, covers dull, slight foxing, fly missing, rather shaken copy. 1979 C. Hayes Compl. Guide Painting & Drawing Techniques & Materials x. 159 Pastels may be preserved against ‘foxing’—the growth of fungus—with..formalin. 1989 Antique Collecting Mar. 63/1 One of six paintings in ink and watercolours and gouache on silk on paper..(some foxing and stains), mid-19th century. |