foreign
adjective
- from another country
- not belonging
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈfɒɹɪn/ / /ˈfɒɹən/ / /ˈfɔɹɪn/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).
- Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
“foreign markets; foreign soil”
“He liked visiting foreign cities.”
- 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”
“There are many more foreign students in Europe since the Erasmus scheme started.”
- Relating to a different nation.
“foreign policy; foreign navies”
“Plus, the Department of Justice has argued in the past that SGEs are subject to the emoluments clause, which means they cannot take payments from foreign governments.”
- Not characteristic of or naturally taken in by an organism or system.
“foreign body; foreign substance; foreign gene; foreign species”
- Alien; strange; uncharacteristic.
“It was completely foreign to their way of thinking.”
“[T]his deſign is not ſo foreign from ſome Peoples Thoughts, […]”
- Held at a distance; excluded; exiled.
“Kept him a foreign man still; which so grieved him, / That he ran mad and died.”
- From a different legal jurisdiction (state, province), even if within the same country.
- Belonging to a different organization, company etc.
“My bank charges me $2.50 every time I use a foreign ATM.”
- Outside, outdoors, outdoor.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English foreyn, forein, from Old French forain, from Vulgar Latin *forānus (“outsider, outlander”), from Latin forās (“outside, outdoors”) or forīs (“outside, outdoors”). Displaced native Old English elþēodiġ (“foreign”) and now-dialectal English fremd, from Old English fremde (“strange, foreign”). The silent -g- added perhaps by analogy with reign (compare also sovereign which was similarly altered).
- A foreign person
“The messaging instructions come in two sets: one for domestics, another for the foreigns.”
- A foreign person
- A foreign person
- A foreign vehicle
- A foreign vehicle
“In the foreign switching lanes and we riding […] A island I wanna live somewhere silent I'm shining I'm bout to flood my neck with diamonds Yeah I've been spitting facts these niggas lying I'm driving stolens, foreigns, yeah I'm riding”
- An outhouse; an outdoor toilet.
“Ful foule ys þat forreyne Þat ys comoun for al certeyne.”
- A foreign area
- A foreign area
- Short for various phrases, including foreign language, foreign parts, and foreign service.