From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
foundation
n 1: the basis on which something is grounded; "there is little
foundation for his objections"
2: an institution supported by an endowment
3: the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or
developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument
rested on a basis of conjecture" [syn: basis, base,
fundament, groundwork, cornerstone]
4: lowest support of a structure; "it was built on a base of
solid rock"; "he stood at the foot of the tower" [syn:
base, fundament, foot, groundwork, substructure,
understructure]
5: education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of
knowledge; "he lacks the foundation necessary for advanced
study"; "a good grounding in mathematics" [syn:
grounding]
6: a woman's undergarment worn to give shape to the contours of
the body [syn: foundation garment]
7: the act of starting something for the first time;
introducing something new; "she looked forward to her
initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new
scientific society"; "he regards the fork as a modern
introduction" [syn: initiation, founding,
institution, origination, creation, innovation,
introduction, instauration]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Foundation \Foun*da"tion\, n. [F. fondation, L. fundatio. See
Found to establish.]
1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to
erect.
[1913 Webster]
2. That upon which anything is founded; that on which
anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest
and supporting layer of a superstructure; groundwork;
basis.
[1913 Webster]
Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a stone . .
. a precious corner stone, a sure foundation. --Is.
xxviii. 16.
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The foundation of a free common wealth. --Motley.
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3. (Arch.) The lowest and supporting part or member of a
wall, including the base course (see Base course
(a), under Base, n.) and footing courses; in a frame
house, the whole substructure of masonry.
[1913 Webster]
4. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable
institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.
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He was entered on the foundation of Westminster.
--Macaulay.
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5. That which is founded, or established by endowment; an
endowed institution or charity; as, the Ford Foundation.
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Against the canon laws of our foundation. --Milton.
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Foundation course. See Base course, under Base, n.
Foundation muslin, an open-worked gummed fabric used for
stiffening dresses, bonnets, etc.
Foundation school, in England, an endowed school.
To be on a foundation, to be entitled to a support from the
proceeds of an endowment, as a scholar or a fellow of a
college.
[1913 Webster]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 Sep 2003) [foldoc]:
foundation
The axiom of foundation states that the membership relation is
well founded, i.e. that any non-empty collection Y of sets has
a member y which is disjoint from Y. This rules out sets
which contain themselves (directly or indirectly).