資料來源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Foul \Foul\ (foul), a. [Compar. Fouler (-[~e]r); superl.
{Foulest}.] [OE. foul, ful, AS. f[=u]l; akin to D. vuil, G.
faul rotten, OHG. f[=u]l, Icel. f[=u]l foul, fetid; Dan.
fuul, Sw. ful foul, Goth. f[=u]ls fetid, Lith. puti to be
putrid, L. putere to stink, be putrid, pus pus, Gr. py`on
pus, to cause to rot, Skr. p[=u]y to stink. [root]82. Cf.
{Defile} to foul, {File} to foul, {Filth}, {Pus}, {Putrid}.]
1. Covered with, or containing, extraneous matter which is
injurious, noxious, offensive, or obstructive; filthy;
dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul
cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney; foul air; a ship's
bottom is foul when overgrown with barnacles; a gun
becomes foul from repeated firing; a well is foul with
polluted water.
My face is foul with weeping. --Job. xvi.
16.
2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words;
foul language.
3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. ``The
foul with Sycorax.'' --Shak.
Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
--Milton.
4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease.
5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares.
--Shak.
6. Not favorable; unpropitious; not fair or advantageous; as,
a foul wind; a foul road; cloudy or rainy; stormy; not
fair; -- said of the weather, sky, etc.
So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak.
7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a
game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest;
dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play.
8. Having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or
entanglement; entangled; -- opposed to clear; as, a rope
or cable may get foul while paying it out.