foreign

From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”), also spelled forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Middle English elendish, ellendish (“foreign”) (from Old English elelendisc, compare Old English ellende (“foreign”), elland (“foreign land”)), Middle English eltheodi, eltheodish (“foreign”) (from Old English elþēodiġ, elþēodisc (“foreign”)), and non-native Middle English peregrin (“foreign”) (from Old French peregrin). The spelling altered perhaps by analogy with sovereign. Cognate with Spanish fuera (“outside”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈfɒɹɨn/, /ˈfɒɹən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹən/

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• Audio (UK)

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• Rhymes: -ɒrən, -ɒrɪn
• Hyphenation: for‧eign

foreign (comparative more foreign, superlative most foreign)

1. Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.

   foreign markets; foreign soil

   He liked visiting foreign cities.

2. Originating from, characteristic of, belonging to, or being a citizen of a country or place other than the one under discussion.

   foreign car; foreign word; foreign citizen; foreign trade

   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 2, in The Ayrsham Mystery‎:

     The cane was undoubtedly of foreign make, for it had a solid silver ferrule at one end, which was not English hall–marked.

   • 2013 August 24, “Guardian warriors and golden eggs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8850:

     Foreign companies love to complain about doing business in China. […] Amid such moans it is worth remembering that, for all the barriers that foreign multinationals face in China, it has welcomed them with open arms compared with the protectionism imposed by Japan and South Korea at comparable stages in their economic development.

   There are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started.

3. Relating to a different nation.

   foreign policy; foreign navies

4. Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.

   foreign body; foreign substance; foreign gene; foreign species

5. (with to, formerly with from) Alien; strange.

   It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift

     This design is not foreign from some people's thoughts.

6. (obsolete) Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Shakespeare

     Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died.

7. (US, state law) From a different one of the states of the United States, as of a state of residence or incorporation.
8. Belonging to a different organization, company etc.

   My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM.

9. (obsolete) Outside, outdoors, outdoor.

• (from a different country): overseas, international
• (strange): alien, fremd
• (in a place where it does not belong): extraneous

• (from a different country): domestic
• (not characteristic): native
• (native to an area): indigenous

foreign (plural foreigns)

1. A foreign person, particularly:
   1. (now informal) A foreigner: a person from another country.
      • 2011 August 30, "White House Extremely Worried About People Saying Dumb Stuff on 9/11" in Gawker:

        The messaging instructions come in two sets: one for domestics, another for the foreigns.

   2. (obsolete) An outsider: a person from another place or group.
   3. (obsolete) A non-guildmember.
2. (obsolete) A foreign ship.
3. (obsolete) Clipping of chamber foreign: an outhouse.
   • 1303, Richard Mannyng, Handlyng Synne, l. 7436 f.:

     Ful foule ys þat forreyne
     Þat ys comoun for al certeyne.

4. A foreign area, particularly:
   1. (now dialect) An area of a community that lies outside the legal town or parish limits.
   2. (obsolete, usually in the plural) An area of a monastery outside its legal limits or serving as an outer court.
5. Short for various phrases, including foreign language, foreign parts, and foreign service.

• (outhouse): chamber foreign; see also Thesaurus:bathroom

• "foreign, adj. and n." in the Oxford English Dictionary (1897), Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Rengifo