foreign

foreign
\ \ [13] Etymologically, foreign means ‘out of doors’. It comes via Old French forein from Vulgar Latin *forānus, a derivative of Latin forāsout of doors, abroad’. This originated as the accusative plural of *fora, an unrecorded variant form of forēsdoor’ (to which English door is related). The literal sense ‘outdoor’ survived into Middle English (the chambre forene mentioned by Robert of Gloucester in his Chronicle 1297, for instance, was an ‘outside loo’), but by the early 15th century the metaphorical ‘of other countries, abroad’ had more or less elbowed it aside.
\ \ Cf.DOOR, FOREST, FORFEIT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Foreign — For eign, a. [OE. forein, F. forain, LL. foraneus, fr. L. foras, foris, out of doors, abroad, without; akin to fores doors, and E. door. See {Door}, and cf. {Foreclose}, {Forfeit}, {Forest}, {Forum}.] 1. Outside; extraneous; separated; alien; as …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • foreign — for·eign adj: not being within the jurisdiction of a political unit (as a state); esp: being from or in a state other than the one in which a matter is being considered a foreign company doing business in South Carolina a foreign executor… …   Law dictionary

  • Foreign — may refer to:*Foreign corporation, a corporation that can do business outside its jurisdiction *Foreign key, a constraint in a relational database *Foreign language, a language not spoken by the people of a certain place *Foreign policy, how a… …   Wikipedia

  • foreign — [fôr′in, fär′in] adj. [ME forein < OFr forein, forain < LL foranus, foreign, orig., external < L foras, out of doors, orig. acc. pl. of OL fora, DOOR] 1. situated outside one s own country, province, locality, etc. [foreign lands] 2. of …   English World dictionary

  • foreign — UK US /ˈfɒrɪn/ adjective ► in or from a country that is not your own: a foreign brand/company/firm »The company represents some foreign brands as their agents or distributors. foreign capital/debt/investment »The country needs to attract foreign… …   Financial and business terms

  • foreign — ► ADJECTIVE 1) of, from, in, or characteristic of a country or language other than one s own. 2) dealing with or relating to other countries. 3) coming or introduced from outside. 4) (foreign to) strange and unfamiliar to. 5) (foreign to) not… …   English terms dictionary

  • foreign — (adj.) mid 13c., ferren, foreyne out of doors, from O.Fr. forain strange, foreign; outer, external, outdoor; remote, out of the way (12c.), from M.L. foranus on the outside, exterior, from L. foris outside, lit. out of doors, related to for1s… …   Etymology dictionary

  • foreign — [adj1] from another country, experience adopted, alien, alienated, antipodal, barbarian, barbaric, borrowed, derived, different, distant, estranged, exiled, exotic, expatriate, external, extralocal, extraneous, extrinsic, far, faraway, far… …   New thesaurus

  • foreign — alien, extraneous, *extrinsic Analogous words: external, outside, Cuter: Unconsonant, inconsistent, incongruous, incompatible: *repugnant, repellent, obnoxious, distasteful: adventitious, *accidental Antonyms: germane Contrasted words: *relevant …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • foreign — Belonging to another nation or country; belonging or attached to another jurisdiction; made, done, or rendered in another state or jurisdiction; subject to another jurisdiction; operating or solvable in another territory; extrinsic; outside;… …   Black's law dictionary

  • foreign — Belonging to another nation or country; belonging or attached to another jurisdiction; made, done, or rendered in another state or jurisdiction; subject to another jurisdiction; operating or solvable in another territory; extrinsic; outside;… …   Black's law dictionary

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