▪ I. foul, a., adv. and n.
(faʊl)
Forms: 1 f{uacu}l, 2–3 ful, (3 ? fuȝel), 2–5 fule, (5 fulle), 4 fole, (feule), 4–7 foule, fowl(e, 4 south. voule, (5–6 foull, fow(e)ll), 9 dial. feaw, fou, 3– foul.
[OE. f{uacu}l = OFris. fûl(nisse) (Du. vuil), OHG. fûl (MHG. vûl, Ger. faul), ON. f{uacu}ll (Sw. ful, Da. fuul), Goth. fûls:—OTeut. *fûlo-, f. root *fu- (also in ON. f{uacu}enn rotten, feyja:—*faujan to cause to rot):—Aryan *pu- (in Skr. pū to stink, Gr. πύον, L. pūs purulent matter, L. pūtēre to stink, puter rotten).]
A. adj. I. 1. a. Grossly offensive to the senses, physically loathsome; primarily with reference to the odour or appearance indicative of putridity or corruption.
| a 800 Corpus Gloss. 1031 Holido, fule. 971 Blickl. Hom. 59 Se lichoma þonne on þone heardestan stenc..þone fulostan bið ᵹecyrred. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 43 Ful stunch. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2556 Summe he deden in vn-ðewed swinc, for it was fuȝel and ful o stinc. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 77 Wykked folk sall fall doun Into hell that foule dongoun. a 1535 More Wks. (1557) 477 Lest he finally fall into the fowle smoke of helle, where he shall neuer see after. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 841 Thou resembl'st..Thy..place of doom obscure and foule. Mod. The foul smells of the place soon drove us away. The foul dens to be found in our great cities. |
b. Of a disease or a person affected with disease: Loathsome.
† the foul disease or
foul evil: (
a) epilepsy, (
b) syphilis, etc.
foul brood: a disease of larval bees (see
quot. 1896); hence
foul-broody adj., infected with foul brood.
| c 900 Bede Gloss. 50 in Sweet O.E. Texts 181 Feda peste, fulre adle. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 96 Feueres oþer fouler yueles. 1486 Bk. St. Albans C v b, That is tokyn of the foule glet. 1529 S. Fish Supplic. Beggers (E.E.T.S.) 1 The foule, vnhappy sorte of lepres. 1542 Boorde Introd. Knowl. ii. 127 As ‘the foule euyll’, whyche is the fallyng syckenes, is at the ende of euery skottysh mans tale. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 567 The disease called the Foul evill. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 711 On Winter Seas we fewer Storms behold, Than foul diseases that infect the Fold. 1744 Berkeley Siris §63 Useful in gouts, dropsies, and rheums, as well as in the foul disease. 1863 Jrnl. Hort. 28 July 78/1 It..occurred to me that all the mischief might possibly arise from that fatal scourge of continental and American apiaries denominated ‘foul brood’. 1875 J. Hunter Man. Bee-keeping 193 Twenty stocks..were foul-broody, and I lost them all. 1888 Gd. Words 353 The terrible disease [of bees] known as ‘foul-brood’. 1896 Board of Agriculture Leaflet No. 32 Foul brood or Bee pest is the most terrible scourge of apiculture. It..is caused by a rod-shaped micro-organism, called Bacillus alvei..Hives in which foul brood exists give forth a sickly and unpleasant smell. |
c. Charged with offensive matter; ‘full of gross humours’ (J.). Of a carcase: Tainted with disease.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 93 Þis is þe difference bitwene a cankre & a foul ulcus. 1606 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 60, I will through and through Cleanse the foul bodie of th' infected world. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Stat. Robt. III, c. 40. 59 b, Fvle Swine, or Corrvpted Salmon, sould be not sauld. 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 350 A comparative view of a foul ulcer, with one in a healing state. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. ii. iii. (1872) 32 Foul Product of still fouler corruption. |
II. Opposed to
clean a. II.
(The implication of disgust etymologically belonging to the word was formerly often absent in these senses; in present use association with sense 1 has commonly restored it,
exc. in certain technical or idiomatic expressons.)
2. Dirty, soiled; covered with or full of dirt. Of ground, a road: Miry, muddy. Now
arch. or
dial.,
exc. with mixture of sense 1: Disgustingly dirty, filthy.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 125 Stigmentum, ful maal on ræᵹel. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Þes oðer..luueð his sunnen alse deð þet fette swin þet fule fen to liȝȝen in. c 1230 Hali Meid. 13 Þa ilke sari wrecches þat i þat ilke fule wurðunge unweddede walewið. c 1300 Havelok 555 In a poke, ful and blac, Sone he caste him on his bac. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 287 Torfes..smelleþ wors þan wode, and makeþ fouler askes. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7214 Þe way was foule, and wendyng hard. c 1483 Caxton Vocab. 16 Yf it [the vrinall] be foull. So rubbe it within. 1516 Will of R. Peke of Wakefield 4 June, To ament a fowll holle abowt the brige. 1535 Coverdale Zech. iii. 4 Take awaye y⊇ foule clothes from him. 1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scint. i. Stars (1858) 56 The night Is dark, and long; The Rode foul. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 341 One of the Washers, came..to fetch People's foul Linnen. 1807 Med. Jrnl. XVII. 107 The sick..dressed in their foulest clothes. 1889 Whitby Gaz. 25 Oct. 3/3 If the way be foul so as not to be passable. |
| fig. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 139 Come, come, you talke greasily, your lips grow foule. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iv. (1841) 86 If you hold of this Mind, we are like to have a foul house with you quickly. |
3. a. † Of handwriting: Blotted, illegible (
obs.).
foul case (see
quots. 1872, 1963);
foul copy: a first copy, defaced by corrections (now
rare); so
† foul books, etc.;
foul papers, a draft or working manuscript, as opposed to a fair copy;
foul proof: see
quots. (
Cf. clean a. 3 c,
fair a. 8 c.)
| 1467 Paston Lett. No. 575 II. 307 By cause of the foule wrytyng and interlynyeng. c 1625 in Library (1925) 4th Ser. VI. 152 The Booke where by it was first Acted from is lost: and this hath beene transcribed from the fowle papers of the Authors w{supc}h were found. 1628 Earle Microcosm. (Arb.) 85 Acquaintance is the first draught of a friend, whom we must lay downe oft thus, as the foule coppy. 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 470 The particulars in his hands were foul books and papers, out of which those he had returned were extracted. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 377 Foul Proof, when a Proof has many Faults markt in it. 1729 J. Gay Polly Pref. p. iii, I take this occasion in the most solemn manner to affirm, that the very copy I delivered to Mr. Rich was written in my own hand some months before at the Bath from my own first foul blotted papers. 1758 Jortin Erasm. I. 46 He sent a foul Copy..to Ammonius, begging him to get it transcribed. 1872 W. Blades Shaks. & Typogr. 74 The compositor works with two of these cases slanting up in front of him, and, when from a shake, a slip, or any other accident, the letters become misplaced, the result is technically known as a ‘foul case’. 1888 Jacobi Printer's Voc., Foul proof—a proof distinct from a clean proof. 1955 Essays & Studies VIII. 3 Investigators have worked out theories about how we can recognize ‘foul papers’ (‘author's manuscript in its last stage before the making of a fair copy’, to quote a recent definition). 1959 F. Bowers Textual & Lit. Crit. iii. 75 Formerly, both quartos were thought to be printed from Shakespeare's foul papers. 1963 Kenneison & Spilman Dict. Printing 73 Foul case, a case of type in which the separate pieces of type have been distributed into the wrong compartments. |
b. foul bill of health: see
bill n.3 10.
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Bill of Health. |
4. a. Charged with defiling or noxious matter;
esp. said of air, water, etc.
† Of a ship:
to make foul water (see
quot. 1769).
Cf. clean a. 2.
foul air,
water,
exc. in technical uses as
Naut. or
Mining, are now used with a mixture of sense 1.
| 1535 Coverdale Jer. ii. 18 To drinke foule water. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 44 Fowle water is when she comes into shallow water where shee raise the sand or ose with her way. 1653–4 Whitelocke Jrnl. Swed. Emb. (1772) I. 132 [The ship].. made fowle water by striking as she passed over the Riffe. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 35 The Seine..is foul and turbid as the Avon. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Eau changée, foul water; or water whose colour is changed by approaching the shore, or otherwise. 1805 T. Lindley Voy. Brasil (1808) 48 Oppressed with breathing the foul air. 1817 Coleridge Sibyl. Leaves (1862) 271 The unwholesome plain Sent up its foulest fogs. 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 26 Foul, in an inflammable state, from fire-damp having accumulated. 1885 Manch. Exam. 5 June 5/2 Old workings charged with foul gas. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 2 Coal pits..make the atmosphere foul with smoke. |
b. Dirty-coloured, discoloured. Also
fig. rare.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 6 We..make foule the clearnesse of our deseruings. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 12 Those teeth, which at a distance appear'd rarely white, are yellow and foul. 1717 tr. Frezier's Voy. S. Sea 183 Glass made with Saltpeter..is green, foul, and ill wrought. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 136 Put into this your yellow-coloured or foul pearls. |
5. a. Of food: Coarse, gross, rank. Hence, applied to the eating of such food, or the eaters of it (in present use, with the stronger notion of feeding on unclean or putrid food).
| 1713 Felton On Classicks 67 They are all for rank and foul Feeding. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World (1757) 256 Not one of us had an hour's sickness, notwithstanding we fed on such foul diet as we did, without bread or salt. 1727 Arbuthnot John Bull Postscript ch. x, How the Esq: from a foul-feeder grew dainty. Mod. The vulture is a foul feeder. |
b. Of a horse: Sluggish from want of exercise.
† Hence, torpid. [
Cf. Ger. faul lazy.]
| 1580 Frampton Dial. Yron & Steele 133 For if they cast the juyce uppon him, it maketh him fowle [Sp. lo entorpece]. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 92 Any Horse that has too little Exercise, and is what we call foul, may puff and blow when moved quick up a Hill. |
6. Clogged, choked, or encumbered with something foreign.
Cf. clean a. 3 b.
a. gen. ?
Obs.| c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 377 Thoct it [the blaid] was foule, nobill it was of steyll. 1572 Huloet, Fowle corn, being full of weedis. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. Devon 31 The Head of it lies in a fowl, barren ground. 1793 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) V. 77 Ground that is either foul of weeds or grass. 1809 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 75 Swamps, muddy banks, and foul shores. |
b. of a gun-barrel, or a chimney.
| 1674 S. Vincent Gallant's Acad. 17 The Body of it [a gun] is fowl..by being too much heated. 1805 W. Saunders Min. Waters 32 The scourings of a foul gun barrel. 1846 Greener Sc. Gunnery 137 If the gun be allowed to get very foul. 1860–1 F. Nightingale Nursing 24 If your chimney is foul, sweep it. |
c. Naut. foul bottom,
foul coast,
foul ground (see
quot. 1867). Also, of a ship: Having the bottom over-grown with seaweed, shell-fish, etc.
| 1622 R. Hawkins Voy. S. Sea (1847) 117 The norther part of the bay hath foule ground and rockes under water. 1683 W. Hacke Collect. Voy. i. (1699) 23 Yet she out-sailed us, she being clean and we as foul as we could be. 1717 tr. Frezier's Voy. S. Sea 293 The Sea running high..made us fear, because the Coast is foul. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. 405 The Monmouth now became very foul and leaky. 1808 Forsyth Beauties Scotl. V. 515 The navigation of the Sound of Ilay is dangerous..from foul ground. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foul Bottom..the bottom of the sea if rocky, or unsafe from wrecks. Foul Coast, one beset with reefs and breakers. Foul Ground, synonymous with foul bottom. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket-bk. v. (ed. 2) 157 The launch should be sent in the direction of the foulground. |
† d. Of plants: Infested with insect parasites.
Cf. filth 2 c. ?
Obs.| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVII. 33 The peas fine, but foul [with plant-lice]. |
e. Path. Of the tongue: Coated with fur, furred.
| 1800 Med. Jrnl. IV. 422 We misunderstand one of the most common appearances..I mean a foul tongue. 1849 R. T. Claridge Cold Water-cure 166 Foul tongue and pain at the pit of the stomach. |
7. a. Morally or spiritually polluted; abominable, detestable, wicked. For
foul fiend, see
fiend.
foul thief: the devil.
foul spirit = unclean spirit.
Cf. clean a. 4.
| a 1000 Crist 1482 (Gr.) Þu þæt sele-ᵹescot..þurh firen⁓lustas fule synne unsyfre besmite. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 243 Euel ȝeþanc and fule lustes. c 1205 Lay. 27634 His fule saule sæh in to helle. c 1275 Death 206 in O.E. Misc. 181 Þer ich schal imete mony o ful wiht. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 380 Kyng Wyllam..bygan sone..to febly..Vor trauayl of þe foul asaȝt. a 1300 Cursor M. 7444 (Gött.) Goli, þat etin, In foul hordam was he getin. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 1007 Þou lexst a foule lesing. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶72 Ne a fouler thral may no man..maken of his body than for to yeuen his body to synne. c 1420 Metr. St. Kath. (Halliw.) 10 Helle hounde, thou fowle wyght. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 681 The fule thefe..He was aboute my wyf to spyle. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 129 b, Theyr suggestions & thoughtes be foule & unprofytable. 1526–34 Tindale Rev. xviii. 2 Babilon..ys become..the holde of all fowle sprettes. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 139, I had forgot that foule conspiracy Of the beast Calliban. 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. ii. v. (1692) 186 To be Led..in ways we see to be foul or wrong. 1719 Watts Ps. cxxi. (L.M.) 25 On thee foul spirits have no power. 1781 Cowper Expostulation 213 Grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds, As richest soil the most luxuriant weeds. 1817 Coleridge Sibyl. Leaves (1862) 216 Beneath the foulest mother's curse No child could ever thrive. 1838 Thirlwall Greece IV. 267 Aristophanes must stand convicted..of the foulest motives. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 60 A court foul with all the vices of the Restoration. |
| ellipt. 1788 Picken Poems 81 O' a' the Nine, the foul a ane [= devil a one] Inspiris like thee. |
† b. Guilty of a charge or accusation; criminally implicated.
Obs. Cf. clean a. 4 b.
| a 1300 [see clean a. 4 b]. 1575 Churchyard Chippes (1817) 194, I must..Prooue foule, or cleane, and by my peeres be tried. c 1575 Balfour Practicks (1754) 611 Efter the offendar be anis fund foul of the first offence. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 36 Twedy is very fowle in this buissines. |
8. Of speech, etc.: Filthy, obscene; also, disgustingly abusive.
| a 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 458 Obscæne, þære fulan. c 1450 Grosseteste's Househ. Stat. in Babees Bk. 330 That they be-haue them selfe honestly, with-out stryffe, fowle⁓spekyng, and noyse. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 15 Beware that..ther escape out of your mouth noo foule wordes. c 1530 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture 107 in Babees Bk. 74 Foule speech deserues a double hate. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 50 The bold Semiramis..her fowle reproches spoke. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 309 In foule mouth..To call him villaine. 1757 Affect. Narr. Wager 32 He poured out a deal of foul Language. 1833 H. Martineau 3 Ages ii. 47 The..gentlemen present had..set the fiddlers..to sing all the foul songs. 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales I. 145 If you don't stop that foul mouth of yours, I'll [etc.]. 1852 C. M. Yonge Cameos I. xii. 80 Keep..your foul tongue to yourself. |
9. † a. Of persons: Ceremonially unclean. Of food: Defiling, not fit for use.
Obs.| c 1000 ælfric Judg. xiii. 4 Ne naht fules ne þicᵹe! c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xi. 41 So foule men schuld noȝt comme in to so haly place. |
b. In
mod. use applied to fish at or immediately after spawning.
Cf. clean a. 5 b.
† c. See
quot., and
cf. clean a. 5 d; also
foul-cut in C. 6.
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 212 A foul horse—not a complete gelding. |
† 10. Of language, diction: Incorrect, inelegant.
Obs.—1 Cf. fair a. 4,
clean a. 7 a.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 8627 To my sawe blame may be leyde For foule englysshe. |
III. Opposed to
fair a.
11. a. Of persons and material objects: Ugly. Now
rare in literary use, but in many (
midl. and
north.) dialects the current sense.
Cf. fair a. 1 a.
| c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 265 And if that she be foul thou seist, that she Coveiteth every man that she may se. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 54 Thenne tok ich hede, Whether the frut were faire other foul to loken on. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. ii. 58 These pepyns myght nought kyndely sprynge to a fayre appeltree but to fowle buskes and wylde. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour G vij, Soone after another [sone] they hadde whiche was fowle and lame. 1509 York Manual (Surtees) 27 For fayrer for fouler. 1533 Frith Another Bk. agst. Rastell (1829) 225 He hath made a foul hole in his kinsmans best coat. 1568 Tilney Disc. Mariage E vij, Daylie we maye see a foule deformed woman, that [etc.]. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 15 Thou callest me fowle [Fr. laide, It. brutta] wenche. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 53 Hee was set upon a foule lean cammell. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. i. 141. 1607 ― Timon iv. iii. 28. 1616 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. i. 10 None could be foule esteem'd compar'd with her. 1836 Emerson Nature, Beauty Wks. (Bohn) II. 145 There is no object so foul that intense light will not make beautiful. 1841 Trench Parables xii. (1877) 232 He loved her foul, that He might make her fair. |
b. Of a part of an animal: ? Ill-shaped. ?
Obs.| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2336/8 Lost..a middle-siz'd Fleet-Hound Bitch, very strong made..a foul stern. 1703 Ibid. 3881/4 Stolen..a thick punching Horse..a little white on one of his Heels, and a foul Head. [1765: cf. 20 a.] |
† c. Unattractive, poor in quality.
Obs.| 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. xv. 9 What was foule and nothinge worth, that they damned. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 359 Let vs (like Merchants) show our fowlist Wares, And thinke, perchance, they'l sell. |
† d. Of the face: Disfigured by distress or tears.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 8507 Thies fellyn hym to fete with a foule chere. 1611 Bible Job xvi. 16 My face is fowle with weeping. |
12. Of sounds: Ugly, disagreeable. Now
dial. (Common in north midlands).
Cf. fair a. 2.
| c 1440 York Myst. xxxi. 320 O! ȝe make a foule noyse for þe nonys. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 274 The Genowayes..made another leape and a foule crie. 1606 Holland Sueton. 81 The Frogges..chaunced to make a foule noyse. |
13. a. Disgraceful, ignominious, shameful.
Cf. 7.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7829 (Gött.) A fouler dede þan ani may driue. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 55 Þe Son of God wold be condempnid to fowlist deþ. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camd.) ii, Thenne made I a fulle fowle ende! 1529 More Comf. agst. Trib. iii. Wks. 1213/2 Thys vngracious secte of Mahomette, shall haue a fowle fall. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Northumberland xi, This fowle despite did cause vs to conspire. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 197 Haue you conspir'd..To baite me with this foule derision? 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 605 This is a foul blot in the Sailors Scutchion. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 144, I should be glad..to acquit the college..of this foul charge. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xv, A letter forged!.. Did ever knight so foul a deed! |
b. Revolting, disgusting.
slang.| 1911 D. Coke Wilson's vi. 59, I was stopping somebody making a foul row. 1930 A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies xxi, ‘Hullo, Gordon! My dear, it's a foul night. Arctic!’ She shivered charmingly. 1930 Punch 20 Aug. 200/1 ‘How foul!’ I said... ‘How dare the creature long to meet me!’ 1963 ‘J. le Carré’ Spy who came in fr. Cold xxv. 212 Mundt won. London won—that's the point. It was a foul, foul operation. But it's paid off, and that's the only rule. |
14. Sporting and
Games. Contrary to rule or established custom, irregular, unfair; said also of the player.
foul ball (Baseball): a ball struck so that it falls outside the lines drawn from the home base through the first and third bases.
Cf. fair a. 10.
| 1797 Sporting Mag. IX. 283 His antagonist having struck him two foul blows. a 1861 Mrs. Browning Last Poems, Garibaldi i, Perhaps that was not a foul trick. 1882 Field 28 Jan. (Cassell), Thus, at billiards, if a player makes a foul stroke and scores, his adversary has the option of not enforcing the penalty. 1882 Sydney Slang Dict. 4/1 Foul-riding, boring a competitor against the rails. 1892 J. Kent Ld. G. Bentinck ii. 48 Colonel Leigh..accused Sam Chifney of foul riding. |
b. esp. in
foul play: unfair conduct in a game;
transf. unfair or treacherous dealing, often with the additional notion of roughness or violence: see 17. So also
† foul player.
Cf. fair-play,
fair a. 10 c.
| [Cf. c 1440 in 17.] 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 289 Foule gamesters, who hauing lost the maine..thinke to face it out with a false oath. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 58 What fowle play had we, that we came from thence? c 1672 Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) I. 383 Supposing..that Dr. Thomas Jones..would act foul play in the election. 1674 tr. Scheffer's Lapland 109 To strike the ball with their bandies over the others line (for it is foul play to fling it with their hands). Ibid., Any one that is found delinquent in this kind, is branded for a fowl plaier. 1737 M. Green Spleen (1738) 21 And when he can't prevent foul-play, Enjoys the folly of the fray. 1814 Sporting Mag. XLIV. 241 After the fifteenth round ‘Foul play!’ was loudly called. 1825 Lytton Zicci 5 There can be no foul play at the public tables. 1887 Rider Haggard Jess xxii, At any rate that does not look like foul play. |
c. † Of a return: Fraudulent (
obs.). Also, in
foul loss: see
quot. 1848.
| 1685 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 341 Foul returns [of elections] made in many places. 1848 Arnould Mar. Insur. (1866) II. iii. ix. 1004 If after a loss has been paid, the underwriter discovers that there was fraud, misrepresentation or concealment..such payment is familiarly termed in insurance law a foul loss. |
† d. foul honesty: (? an oxymoron) false pretence of honesty.
Obs.| 1550 Hooper Serm. on Jonas iii. 40 b, Then washeth he hys handes with as much foule honestie as he can. |
15. Of the weather, etc.: Unfavourable; wet and stormy.
Cf. fair a. 12.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 101 Foule wedir and coold. a 1541 Wyatt in Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry (1840) III. xxxviii. 47 In foule wether at my booke to sit. 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 108 So foule a skie cleres not without a storme. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 9 And att night wee had foule weather. 1661 Pepys Diary 19 Apr., It being so foule that I could not go to Whitehall. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. xiii, A very foul Night it was after it. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. x. (1869) I. 107 A mason..can work neither in hard frost nor in foul weather. 1865 Parkman Champlain iii. (1875) 228 For labor or amusement in foul weather. |
16. Of the wind: Contrary, unfavourable.
| 1726 G. Roberts 4 Years' Voy. 3 Untoward Weather, as well as a foul Wind. 1795 Nelson 22 May in Nicolas Disp. II. 39 Continued foul winds..from the day of our sailing. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 300 The packet could not sail in the teeth of a foul wind. |
17. Of a means or procedure, and of language: Harsh, rough, violent.
Cf. fair a. 15.
| c 1440 Gesta Rom. lx. 248 (Harl. MS.), Tristing in himselfe that the lion wolde have I-made a foule pleye withe þe lorde & withe þe lady. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 573 Foul words and frowns must not repel a lover. 1608 Yorksh. Trag. i. vii, A fouler strength than his O'erthrew me with his arms. 1639 T. Brugis tr. Camus' Moral Relat. 171 He would not have gathered by faire meanes or foule, that which he so impatiently desired. 1659 D. Pell Impr. Sea 79 Some of you get foul checks. 1704 [see fair a. 15]. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Aristocracy Wks. II. 85 War is a foul game. |
18. Naut., opposed to
clear: ‘Entangled, embarrassed, or contrary to’ (
Adm. Smyth). Const.
of,
† on.
to fall, run foul of: see the
vbs. foul berth,
foul hawse: see
quot. 1867.
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. xiii. 61 We are fowle on each other, and the ship is on fire. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. x. 303 She..coming foul of the same shole..was in great danger of being lost. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 115 In weighing the Grapenel..we found it foul among some Rocks. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. i. 10 And we were in no small danger of driving foul of the Prince Frederick. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Tour de cable, a foul hawse; a turn or elbow in the hawse. 1822 G. W. Manby Voy. Greenland (1823) 13 A small axe to cut away the line, in case of its getting foul when running out. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xxiii, Topsail-tie is foul. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast vii. 16 We [the ship] were continually swinging round, and had thus got a very foul hawse. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foul Berth, when a ship anchors in the hawse of another she gives the latter a foul berth. Foul Hawse, when a vessel is riding with two anchors out, and the cables are crossed round each other outside the stem, by the swinging of the ship when moored in a tide-way. |
b. foul anchor: see
quot. 1769. Also, the badge of the British Admiralty.
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789), Foul Anchor: it is so called when it..hooks some other anchor, wreck, or cable..or when..the ship..straying round the bed of her anchor entangles her slack cable about the upper fluke of it. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xiii. 31 On one of his broad arms he had the crucifixion, and on the other the sign of the ‘foul anchor’. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 203 Put a foul-anchor strop round the crown. |
19. Of a charge of powder.
| 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 9 If the rocket rises a little, and falls back, the charge is foul. |
IV. 20. Comb. a. parasynthetic, as
foul-aired,
foul-browed,
foul-faced,
foul-minded (hence
foulmindedness),
foul-thighed,
foul-tongued,
foul-vizored. Also
foul-mouthed.
| 1883 Century Mag. XXVI. 213 The whole place unclean and *foul-aired. |
| 1610 Healey St. Aug. Citie of God 765 The holy..servants of the true God live in this *foule⁓browed world. |
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. i. (Arb.) 7 Then *foule faced Vice was in his swadling bands. |
| 1849 Kingsley Poetry Sacr. & Leg. Art Misc. I. 244 Every form of prudish and prurient *foulmindedness. |
| 1765 Treat. Dom. Pigeons 95 Let it [another colour] fall here, or on any other part of the thigh, it is called *foul-thigh'd. |
| 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Rom. iii. 8 *Foule tounged people. |
| 1608 Machin Dumb Knight i. i, *Foule vizard coynes. |
b. in
attrib. (quasi-adj.) uses of
foul weather (sense 15); also
foul-weather-like adj.| 1768 Wales in Phil. Trans. LX. 108 Over these they have a kind of foul-weather jacket. c 1793 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) I. 75, I don't care a stale chaw of tobacco for the foul-weather looks of any fair-weather Jack in the three kingdoms. 1837 Marryat Dog-fiend xii, He remained in his..foul-weather hat. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §275 The sky began to look foul-weather-like. |
B. n. [The
adj. used
absol. or
elliptically.]
1. That which is foul (in senses of the
adj.): something foul.
for foul nor fair: on no account, by no means. For
foul befall see note on
fair n.2 1.
| a 900 Halsuncge in Sweet O.E. Texts 176 Ðis mon..scal reda ofer ða feta ðe ful infalleð. a 1000 Elene 769 Þæs he in ermðum sceal ealra fula ful fah þrowian. c 1386 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 525 But what she was, she wold no man seye For foul ne fair. c 1400 Sowdone Bab. 199 And foule shal hem this day bifalle. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. v, All the foule shall couertly be wryed. c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 430 Foule mot yow fall. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. iv. in Ashm. (1652) 47 Foule and cleane by naturall lawe Hath greate discord. 1594 J. Dickenson Arisbas (1878) 54 Foule fall the wagge that lost so rare a iewell. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 7 Foul befal the man who ever lays a snare in its way! |
| Prov. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Cheshire i. (1662) 177 Frost and Fraud both end in Foul. |
2. A disease in the feet of cattle and sheep. Also, a disease in dogs (see
quot. 1854).
Cf. file n.2 6 b.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §63 There be bestes, that wyll haue the foule and that is betwene the cleese, sometyme before, and some tyme behynde, and it wyll swell, and cause hym to halt. 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. ii. xxiii. (1668) 79 Troubled with that disease which is called the Foule. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 315 What the Cow-Leeches term the Foul in a Cow's Foot. 1810 Ann. Reg. 629, I have had them disordered in the feet with the fouls, but not the foot⁓rot. 1854 E. Mayhew Dogs (1861) 114 Foul is not one disease, but an accumulation of disorders, brought on by the absence of exercise, with a stimulating diet. |
3. a. (In sense partly derived from
foul v.) A collision or entanglement,
esp. in riding, rowing, running, etc.; an irregular stroke, piece of play, etc.
to claim a foul: to claim a favourable award because of unfair action on the part of an opponent. In
Baseball: A foul hit: see A. 14.
| 1754 Dict. Arts & Sc. II. 1311 Foul imports, also, the running of one ship against another. 1864 Home News 19 Dec. 21/2 Coombes..boring his opponent too closely to the shore, a foul occurred. 1867 F. Francis Angling v. (1880) 150 The drop will fall over the stretcher, and a foul will be the consequence. 1873 Bennett Billiards 480 The player who made the foul must follow suit. 189. Billiard Rules xix, A player may claim a foul if he sees his opponent touch a ball..(except with his cue, when making a stroke). |
b. foul-up: a state of muddle or confusion.
orig. U.S.| 1953 ‘S. Ransome’ Drag Dark (1954) vii. 69, I couldn't judge how far I could rely on you to find the way out of this foul-up. 1958 ‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 30 Second weapon to be used if there's any foul up with the first. 1967 Observer 14 May 2/8 He traces the foul-up back to 1953. |
C. adv. [In early
ME. fule,
foule,
f. the
adj. with
advb. ending
-e; after 14th c. not distinguished in form from the
adj.]
† 1. In a manner offensive to the sense of smell.
| c 1200 Ormin 1201 Gat iss..Gal deor, and stinnkeþþ fule. c 1275 XI Pains of Hell 123 in O.E. Misc. 150 Þe stude..stinkeþ fulre þane þe hund. a 1300 Cursor M. 18147 Þou hell, sua fule stinkand thing. c 1340 Ibid. 6353 (Trin.) Þe wattres þat so foule stank. 1563 W. Fulke Meteors (1640) 67 b, Lead also, which maketh it to bee in colour so black and so fowle to corrupt. |
† 2. In an ugly manner.
to fare foul: To behave in an unseemly way, ‘go on’ outrageously.
| ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 155 Y frounced foule was hir visage. a 1400–50 Alexander 4082 Wemen..Þat frely faire ware of face bot foule ware clethid. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 484 Scho..To-rente hyre clothes and foule ferde. c 1450 Merlin 116 Foule were thei skorched with the fier. |
† 3. Disgracefully, shamefully.
Obs. to call (a person) foul: to call by a bad name.
Obs.| c 1275 Doomsday 48 in O.E. Misc. 164 So fule he [þe cwed] vs blende. c 1325 Poem temp. Edw. II (Percy) lxi, He shal be foul afrounted. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 179 And þou hast famed me foule bifore the kyng heer. 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1307 Dido, Ye wil nat fro your wyf thus foule fleen? c 1386 ― Pars. T. ¶741 He leseth foule his good þat ne seketh with the yifte of his good no thyng but synne. c 1430 How Wise Man tauȝt his Son 100 in Babees Bk. 51 To calle hir foule it is þi schame. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour 13 [In confession] ye shulde telle the synne as foule as ye do it, and in the same manere. c 1450 Merlin 12 Hir bewte was foule spente, seth it was loste in soche manere. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. ii. 44 Ile haue this Crown of mine cut from my shoulders, Before Ile see the Crowne so foule mis-plac'd. |
4. † a. Badly, ill, grievously.
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 108 Heo is a grucchild, & ful itowen. c 1340 Cursor M. 1639 (Trin.) Þe erþe wiþ synne is foul shent. ? 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1061 They..foule abate the folkes prys. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 472 Selden falle thei so foule..As clerkes of holikirke. c 1400 Rom. Rose 2655 Than shalt thou goon, ful foule aferd. 1426 W. Paston in P. Lett. No. 7 I. 26, I am foule and noysyngly vexed with hem. c 1460 Towneley Myst. (Surtees) 114 Ille spon weft, I wys, ay commys foulle owte. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 23 Two of three her nephews are so fowle forlorne. |
b. Not in the correct or regular manner.
| 1683 Lond. Gaz. No. 1840/4 [He] trots and gallops foul. 1686 Ibid. No. 2136/4 Stolen or stray'd..a red roan Gelding..trots foul..cuts behind. 1715 Ibid. No. 5331/4 Carries his Tail foul. 1884 Western Daily Press 16 Apr. 7/2 A well-known..amateur..in spurring his first bird fastened the spur on ‘foul’, the result being that the first blow it made cut its own throat. |
5. Unfairly; contrary to the rules of the game. Also
fig. in
to play (a person) foul: to deal treacherously with.
| 1707 Reflex. upon Ridicule 261 You are fond of Gaming and you Play foul. 1755 Young Centaur 105 He that plays foul the most dexterously is sure to be undone. 1799 Nelson 17 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. IV. 60 Our Allies have..played us foul. |
6. Comb., as
foul-feeding,
foul-reeking,
foul-smelling,
foul-spoken adjs.; also
foul-biting n. (see
quot.);
foul-cut a., imperfectly gelded (
cf. foul a. 9 c);
foul-hooked a., of a fish, hooked anywhere on the body except in the mouth.
| 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 429 Otherwise you will have parts bit that were not intended, which is called *foul-biting. |
| 1811 Sporting Mag. XXXVIII. 213 It was a *foul-cut horse. |
| 1634 Bp. Hall Serm. Rom. xii. 2. Wks. II. 301 There is an appetitus caninus, that..falls upon unmeet and *foule-feeding morsels. 1684 Otway Atheist i. i, The dirty Dugs of a foul-feeding Witch. |
| 1898 Westm. Gaz. 6 Oct. 4/2 Without doubt this fish was *foul-hooked, though it was surely a heavy one. 1959 Cape Times 9 Mar. 3/6 Galjoen, haarders, and white steenbras, most of which were foul hooked, were landed. 1971 Country Life 11 Mar. 533/3 If there is a fish in the run, casts subsequent to the first will tend to fall across it and disturb it, if indeed it is not pricked or foul-hooked. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 799 O night, thou furnace of *foul-reeking smoke. |
| 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 55 In the case of any *foul-smelling or suspected water. |
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. i. 58 *Foule spoken Coward That thundrest with thy tongue. 1848 Hare Guesses Ser. ii. (1873) 527 They who are too fairspoken before you, are likely to be foulspoken behind you. |
▸
foul lane n. Basketball = free-throw lane n. at
free throw n. Compounds.
| 1911 Chicago Daily Tribune 31 Jan. 16/5 For violation of the rules forbidding a player to enter the *foul lane while a free throw is being made..the goal if made shall not count. 2002 Sporting News 10 June 51/1 The rules committee's experiment with an NBA-width foul lane, which..would open up room for offensive movement. |
▸
foul shot n. Basketball = free throw n.| 1905 N.Y. Times 5 Mar. 13/1 Had Ritschy been able to place the ball accurately the Brooklyn boys would have come off with the victory on *foul shots alone. 1994 Sports Illustr. 7 Nov. 178/1 It's bad enough that everyone but the ball boy gives a player a high five after he makes a foul shot. |
▪ II. foul, v.1 (
faʊl)
[In form repr. OE. f{uacu}lian intr. = OHG. fûlôn (MHG. vûlen, mod.G. faulen). In the trans. use, which begins in the 14th c, it may be regarded as a new formation; cf. file v.2, to which the early ME. fulen trans. belongs.] 1. a. intr. To be foul, become foul.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. (Sweet 21) Ðær licᵹað þa deadan men swa lange and ne fuliað. c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) xxxvii[i]. 5 Mine wunda rotedan and fuledon. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 37 Sume men ladeð here lif on etinge and on drinkinge alse swin, þe uulieð. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 269 So ferly fowled her flesch þat þe fende loked, How [etc.]. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. 41 So apt to foul, or difficult to clean as Wood. 1858 Greener Gunnery 400 Prince's breech⁓loader..fouls in the proportion of at least 3 to 1 more. |
b. Also with
up.
| 1922 D. H. Lawrence England, my England 238 He could smell the cold, rotten clay that fouled up into the water. 1960 E. L. Delmar-Morgan Cruising Yacht Equip. & Navig. xii. 146 Tendency of a two-stroke to ‘oil up’ or to ‘foul up’. |
2. a. trans. To render (materially) foul, filthy, or dirty; to destroy the cleanness or purity of;
= defile v.
1 2,
file v.
2 1.
| c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 937 Lest þ{supt} holy plase w{supt} þat blod y folud shuld be. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. v. 1594 It is neyther wurshipful ne honest On-to mankeende to foule soo his nest. c 1450 Bk. Curtasye 110 in Babees Bk. 302 To foule þe borde clothe with þi knyfe. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 177 He y{supt} hath a precyous..garment, wyll be loth to..foule it. 1611 Bible Ezek. xxxiv. 19 They drinke that which yee haue fouled with your feete. 1683 Tryon Way to Health 303 A close heavy substance..that fouls and makes the blood thick and gross. 1705 Oliver in Phil. Trans. XXV. 2181 'Tis farther observable, he never foul'd his Bed. a 1745 Swift Wks. (1841) II. 355 The waiting maid..fouls a smock more in one hour, than the kitchen maid does in a week. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 141 It fouls itself with a pale ochrous sediment. 1865 Kingsley Herew. II. xxii. 368 Any more than the wolf would forgive the lamb for fouling the water below him. 1883 Manch. Exam. 20 Nov. 5/5 Manchester gas is fouled by sulphur compounds. |
b. absol. To cause filth or dirt, to drop ordure.
| 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour G v, It fortuned that the swalowe dyd fowle within the eyen of Thobye. 1814 J. Gilchrist Reason 56 Thus they croaked, and crawled, and spawned, and fouled. |
3. fig. and in immaterial sense. To defile or pollute (with guilt); to dishonour, disgrace.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10637 (Gött.) To saule þat fowlid was in sinne. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 137 Leste þe Fend and heore flesch fouleden heore soules. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. II. 264 Many þenken þei [þe freres] ben heretikes and foulen men þat maynteynen hem. c 1440 Jacob's Well (E.E.T.S.) 297 For venyall synnes þat foulyth vs yche day. 1581 Savile Tacitus' Hist. i. xlii. 41 Fouling his infamous life with a slow and dishonest departing. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus ii. 14 He careth not to be filthy still..and to fowle..all that come in his companie. 1748 Chesterfield Lett. (1792) II. cxxxix. 372 Your Commensaux, who..foul themselves with..scoundrel gamesters. 1791 Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 15 With hands not fouled with confiscation. 1862 Goulburn Pers. Relig. iii. x. (1873) 241 Whose imaginations have been fouled of evil. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. ii. 621 No weariness of good shall foul thy name. |
† b. To throw discredit on.
Obs.| c 1440 Gesta Rom. xvii. 62 (Add. MS.) The new lawe that he made, and fowled [v.r. fylid] not the other. |
† c. To violate the chastity of, debauch.
Obs.—1| 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. iii. Wks. 1878 II. 33 Sweare me to foule my sister! |
d. Also with
up: to spoil, (cause) to bungle or muddle (something or someone). Chiefly
U.S.| 1947 Harper's Mag. May 425/1 ‘Wing Ding’ has a tricky opening where the sax and trumpet play against each other, accenting different beats... Sparrow came in a beat late, fouling it up. 1950 ‘S. Ransome’ Deadly Miss Ashley xii. 143 It would foul us up for fair this time. 1951 J. D. Salinger Catcher in Rye ix. 80 Boy, I really fouled that up. 1954 J. & W. Hawkins Death Watch (1959) ii. 55, I got all fouled up in the chain of command. 1958 S. Ellin Eighth Circle (1959) ii. ix. 100 You've got fine bone structure, but look at the way you're fouling it up. 1971 N. Freeling Over High Side iii. 201 Everybody still has their mouth far too close to the utterly fouled-up microphone. |
4. To make ugly (see
foul a. 11); to deface, disfigure, spoil the look of.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter iv. 7 Swa to foule þis ymage [of God] þ{supt} it kan noght knaw til whas lycnynge it is made. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 309 Kammokes and wedes Fouleth þe fruite in þe felde þere þei growe togyderes. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 23 So was the wiff fouled and maymed alle her lyff. 1557 Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 158 He..fowlth with haile the winters face. 1884 Browning Ferishtah (1885) 25 The cloud, which fouled so late Thy face. |
5. Chiefly
Naut. Cf. foul a. 18.
a. To cause (an anchor, a cable) to become entangled. Also, To jam or block, render immovable or incapable of working; to make (a sea bottom) ‘foul’ or obstructed.
| 1726 G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 401 'Tis generally said, That the West-of-England-men fouled this Bay, by heaving their Stone Ballast over-board in it. 1827 Hood Sailor's Apol. ii, 'Twas all along of Poll, as I may say, That fouled my cable, when I ought to slip. 1835 Marryat Pirate viii, See that she does not foul her anchor. 1885 Manch. Exam. 17 Jan. 5/4 The Manchester express..ran into a mineral train by which the line was fouled. 1892 Law Times Rep. LXV. 590/1 A ship..fouled her propellor. 1895 Daily News 9 Sept. 3/3 Station him at the east..section of the Circus to prevent the traffic from east to west ‘fouling’ the crossing. |
| fig. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xiv, His luck's got fouled under the keels of the barges. |
b. intr. To get foul; to become entangled. Also (chiefly
U.S.)
fig. with
up.
| 1857 P. Colquhoun Comp. Oarsman's Guide 32 To foul, or get foul, is to get entangled. 1860 C. Harrold in Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 173 The chain fouled on the windlass. 1867 F. Francis Angling v. (1880) 166 He will be perpetually fouling in the branches. 1957 P. Frank Seven Days to Never (1959) viii. iv. 184 Somewhere in his career he had fouled up. 1958 ‘P. Bryant’ Two Hours to Doom 16 A man marked for high rank..if he did not foul up on the way. |
c. trans. To run foul of, collide with.
| 1859 Guardian 2 Mar. 195 In attempting to make the harbour [she]..fouled the pier. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. ii. (1889) 16 He managed..to get into Iffley lock on the way up without fouling the gates. 1868 Kinglake Crimea (1877) IV. xiii. 389 Her jib-boom fouled the jib-boom of the Agamemnon. 1875 W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 125 Keep to the left, or you'll foul me. |
6. Sporting and
Games.
Cf. foul a. 14. To handle or strike an opponent in a ‘foul’ manner.
b. Baseball. To hit a foul ball.
to foul out: to be caught ‘out’ from a foul ball.
Hence
ˈfouling ppl. a. Also
ˈfouler, one that fouls or makes dirty.
| a 1050 Liber Scintill. ix. (1889) 45 Fuliᵹendum limum. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise cleane Linen 13 Wks. ii. 166 Prayers for the cleane amendment of all foulers of Linnen. 1896 Daily Chron. 23 Mar. 3/2 Ridding our soot-charged passages of the fouling stuff. |
▪ III. † foul, fowle, v.2 Obs. [a. F. fouler to tread, trample, press. Cf. full v., foil v.1] trans. To trample, tread, tread down.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4681 And be þar gold in oure gate..We do bot foulis it with oure fete. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 24 b/2 The presse I have torned and fowled all allone. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon cxl. 524 The countre is sore fowllyd and opressyd. 1643 Prynne Popish R. Fav. 46 He caused the Image of the Crosse to be redressed, and that men should not foule it under their feete. |