From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
foil
n 1: a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal; "the photographic
film was wrapped in foil"
2: anything that serves by contrast to call attention to
another thing's good qualities; "pretty girls like plain
friends as foils" [syn: enhancer]
3: a device consisting of a flat or curved piece (as a metal
plate) so that its surface reacts to the water it is
passing through; "the fins of a fish act as hydrofoils"
[syn: hydrofoil]
4: picture consisting of a positive photograph or drawing on a
transparent base; viewed with a projector [syn:
transparency]
5: a light slender flexible sword tipped by a button
v 1: enhance by contrast; "In this picture, the figures are
foiled against the background"
2: hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of; "What
ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing
September surge"; "foil your opponent" [syn: thwart,
queer, spoil, scotch, cross, frustrate,
baffle, bilk]
3: cover or back with foil; "foil mirrors"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Foil \Foil\, v. t. [See 6th File.]
To defile; to soil. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Foil \Foil\, n.
1. Failure of success when on the point of attainment;
defeat; frustration; miscarriage. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Nor e'er was fate so near a foil. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. A blunt weapon used in fencing, resembling a smallsword in
the main, but usually lighter and having a button at the
point.
[1913 Webster]
Blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt
not. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Isocrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes
with a word. --Mitford.
[1913 Webster]
3. The track or trail of an animal.
[1913 Webster]
To run a foil,to lead astray; to puzzle; -- alluding to the
habits of some animals of running back over the same track
to mislead their pursuers. --Brewer.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Foil \Foil\ (foil), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Foiled (foild); p. pr.
& vb. n. Foiling.] [F. fouler to tread or trample under
one's feet, to press, oppress. See Full, v. t.]
1. To tread under foot; to trample.
[1913 Webster]
King Richard . . . caused the ensigns of Leopold to
be pulled down and foiled under foot. --Knoless.
[1913 Webster]
Whom he did all to pieces breake and foyle,
In filthy durt, and left so in the loathely soyle.
--Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
2. To render (an effort or attempt) vain or nugatory; to
baffle; to outwit; to balk; to frustrate; to defeat.
[1913 Webster]
And by ? mortal man at length am foiled. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
Her long locks that foil the painter's power.
--Byron.
[1913 Webster]
3. To blunt; to dull; to spoil; as, to foil the scent in
chase. --Addison.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Foil \Foil\, n. [OE. foil leaf, OF. foil, fuil, fueil, foille,
fueille, F. feuille, fr. L. folium, pl. folia; akin to Gr. ?,
and perh. to E. blade. Cf. Foliage, Folio.]
1. A leaf or very thin sheet of metal; as, brass foil; tin
foil; gold foil.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Jewelry) A thin leaf of sheet copper silvered and
burnished, and afterwards coated with transparent colors
mixed with isinglass; -- employed by jewelers to give
color or brilliancy to pastes and inferior stones. --Ure.
[1913 Webster]
3. Anything that serves by contrast of color or quality to
adorn or set off another thing to advantage.
[1913 Webster]
As she a black silk cap on him began
To set, for foil of his milk-white to serve. --Sir
P. Sidney.
[1913 Webster]
Hector has a foil to set him off. --Broome.
[1913 Webster]
4. A thin coat of tin, with quicksilver, laid on the back of
a looking-glass, to cause reflection.
[1913 Webster]
5. (Arch.) The space between the cusps in Gothic
architecture; a rounded or leaflike ornament, in windows,
niches, etc. A group of foils is called trefoil,
quatrefoil, quinquefoil, etc., according to the number of
arcs of which it is composed.
[1913 Webster]
Foil stone, an imitation of a jewel or precious stone.
[1913 Webster]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
FOIL
File Oriented Interpretive Language. CAI language.
["FOIL - A File Oriented Interpretive Language",
J.C. Hesselbart, Proc ACM 23rd National Conf (1968)].