foiled
[foild]
- ornamented with foils, as a gable, spandrel, or balustrade.
Show More
Origin of foiled
foil1
[foil]
- to prevent the success of; frustrate; balk: Loyal troops foiled his attempt to overthrow the government.
- to keep (a person) from succeeding in an enterprise, plan, etc.
Show More
- Archaic. a defeat; check; repulse.
Show More
Origin of foil1
1250–1300; Middle English foilen, < Anglo-French foller, Old French fuler to trample, full (cloth). See full2
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comfoil2
[foil]
- metal in the form of very thin sheets: aluminum foil.
- the metallic backing applied to glass to form a mirror.
- a thin layer of metal placed under a gem in a closed setting to improve its color or brilliancy.
- a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast: The straight man was an able foil to the comic.
- Architecture. an arc or a rounded space between cusps, as in the tracery of a window or other ornamentation.
- an airfoil or hydrofoil.
Show More
- to cover or back with foil.
- to set off by contrast.
Show More
Origin of foil2
1350–1400; Middle English foille, foil < Old French fuelle, fueille, foille (< Latin folia leaves), fuel, fueil, foil (< Latin folium leaf, blade)
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
hinder, prevent, thwart, counter, elude, frustrate, nullify, curb, cramp, rattle, skip, shake, disconcert, dash, duck, ditch, check, stymie, outwit, restrainExamples from the Web for foiled
Contemporary Examples
A few days later, an Associated Press story reported that Western intelligence agencies had foiled an AQAP plot.
In 2002, an Islamist plot to poison the London underground with ricin was foiled as well.
But then the Bangladeshi whose bomb plot was foiled yesterday turned his aim to the New York Fed.
Among them was an attempt in 2011—foiled at the last minute—to plant a homemade backpack bomb at a Martin Luther King Jr.
Twice in the last two years, the Saudis foiled al Qaeda plots to attack American cities.
Historical Examples
You have foiled me, and conquered: be it so; I congratulate you.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
The Greenwich party, foiled in this attempt, now disavowed it.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
Seeing me foiled, Charley advanced with the doubtful aid of a sophism to help me.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
By this simple method, the bees which come to make the attack will be foiled, and constrained to act with great disadvantage.
If you fail in the former, you will often be foiled in your attempts at the latter.
The Mother's Manual of Children's DiseasesCharles West, M.D.
foil1
- to baffle or frustrate (a person, attempt, etc)
- hunting (of hounds, hunters, etc) to obliterate the scent left by a hunted animal or (of a hunted animal) to run back over its own trail
- archaic to repulse or defeat (an attack or assailant)
Show More
- hunting any scent that obscures the trail left by a hunted animal
- archaic a setback or defeat
Show More
Word Origin
C13 foilen to trample, from Old French fouler, from Old French fuler tread down, full ²
foil2
- metal in the form of very thin sheetsgold foil; tin foil
- the thin metallic sheet forming the backing of a mirror
- a thin leaf of shiny metal set under a gemstone to add brightness or colour
- a person or thing that gives contrast to another
- architect a small arc between cusps, esp as used in Gothic window tracery
- short for aerofoil, hydrofoil
Show More
- to back or cover with foil
- Also: foliate architect to ornament (windows) with foils
Show More
Word Origin
C14: from Old French foille, from Latin folia leaves, plural of folium
foil3
- a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button and usually having a bell-shaped guard
Show More
Word Origin
C16: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for foiled
foil
v.
c.1300, foilen "to spoil a trace or scent by running over it," irregularly from Old French fouler "trample," from Vulgar Latin *fullare "to clean cloth" (by treading on it), from Latin fullo "one who cleans cloth, fuller," of unknown origin.
Hence, "to overthrow, defeat" (1540s). Sense of "frustrate the efforts of" first recorded 1560s. Related: Foiled; foiling. Foiled again! as a cry of defeat and dismay is from at least 1847.
Show More
foil
n.
"thin sheet of metal," early 14c., from Old French fueille "leaf," from Latin folia "leaves," plural (mistaken for fem. singular) of folium "leaf" (see folio).
The sense of "one who enhances another by contrast" (1580s) is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine more brilliantly. The meaning "light sword used in fencing" (1590s) could be from this sense, or from foil (v.). The modern sense of "metallic food wrap" is from 1946.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper