from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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My face is foul with weeping. --Job. xvi.
16.
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2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words;
foul language.
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3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. "The foul
with Sycorax." --Shak.
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Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
--Milton.
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4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease.
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5. Ugly; homely; poor. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares.
--Shak.
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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.
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So foul a sky clears not without a storm. --Shak.
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7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a
game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest;
dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play.
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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.
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{Foul anchor}. (Naut.) See under {Anchor}.
{Foul ball} (Baseball), a ball that first strikes the ground
outside of the foul ball lines, or rolls outside of
certain limits.
{Foul ball lines} (Baseball), lines from the home base,
through the first and third bases, to the boundary of the
field.
{Foul berth} (Naut.), a berth in which a ship is in danger of
fouling another vesel.
{Foul bill}, or {Foul bill of health}, a certificate, duly
authenticated, that a ship has come from a place where a
contagious disorder prevails, or that some of the crew are
infected.
{Foul copy}, a rough draught, with erasures and corrections;
-- opposed to fair or clean copy. "Some writers boast of
negligence, and others would be ashamed to show their foul
copies." --Cowper.
{Foul proof}, an uncorrected proof; a proof containing an
excessive quantity of errors.
{Foul strike} (Baseball), a strike by the batsman when any
part of his person is outside of the lines of his
position.
{To fall foul}, to fall out; to quarrel. [Obs.] "If they be
any ways offended, they fall foul." --Burton.
{To fall foul of} or {To run foul of}. See under {Fall}.
{To make foul water}, to sail in such shallow water that the
ship's keel stirs the mud at the bottom.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Anchor \An"chor\ ([a^][ng]"k[~e]r), n. [OE. anker, AS. ancor,
oncer, L. ancora, sometimes spelt anchora, fr. Gr. 'a`gkyra,
akin to E. angle: cf. F. ancre. See {Angle}, n.]
1. A iron instrument which is attached to a ship by a cable
(rope or chain), and which, being cast overboard, lays
hold of the earth by a fluke or hook and thus retains the
ship in a particular station.
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Note: The common anchor consists of a straight bar called a
shank, having at one end a transverse bar called a
stock, above which is a ring for the cable, and at the
other end the crown, from which branch out two or more
arms with flukes, forming with the shank a suitable
angle to enter the ground.
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Note: Formerly the largest and strongest anchor was the sheet
anchor (hence, Fig., best hope or last refuge), called
also {waist anchor}. Now the bower and the sheet anchor
are usually alike. Then came the best bower and the
small bower (so called from being carried on the bows).
The stream anchor is one fourth the weight of the bower
anchor. Kedges or kedge anchors are light anchors used
in warping.
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2. Any instrument or contrivance serving a purpose like that
of a ship's anchor, as an arrangement of timber to hold a
dam fast; a contrivance to hold the end of a bridge cable,
or other similar part; a contrivance used by founders to
hold the core of a mold in place.
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3. Fig.: That which gives stability or security; that on
which we place dependence for safety.
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Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. --Heb.
vi. 19.
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4. (Her.) An emblem of hope.
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5. (Arch.)
(a) A metal tie holding adjoining parts of a building
together.
(b) Carved work, somewhat resembling an anchor or
arrowhead; -- a part of the ornaments of certain
moldings. It is seen in the echinus, or egg-and-anchor
(called also {egg-and-dart}, {egg-and-tongue})
ornament.
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6. (Zool.) One of the anchor-shaped spicules of certain
sponges; also, one of the calcareous spinules of certain
Holothurians, as in species of {Synapta}.
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6. (Television) an {achorman}, {anchorwoman}, or
{anchorperson}.
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{Anchor ice}. See under {Ice}.
{Anchor light} See the vocabulary.
{Anchor ring}. (Math.) Same as {Annulus}, 2 (b).
{Anchor shot} See the vocabulary.
{Anchor space} See the vocabulary.
{Anchor stock} (Naut.), the crossbar at the top of the shank
at right angles to the arms.
{Anchor watch} See the vocabulary.
{The anchor comes home}, when it drags over the bottom as the
ship drifts.
{Foul anchor}, the anchor when it hooks, or is entangled
with, another anchor, or with a cable or wreck, or when
the slack cable is entangled.
{The anchor is acockbill}, when it is suspended
perpendicularly from the cathead, ready to be let go.
{The anchor is apeak}, when the cable is drawn in so tight as
to bring the ship directly over it.
{The anchor is atrip}, or {aweigh}, when it is lifted out of
the ground.
{The anchor is awash}, when it is hove up to the surface of
the water.
{At anchor}, anchored.
{To back an anchor}, to increase the holding power by laying
down a small anchor ahead of that by which the ship rides,
with the cable fastened to the crown of the latter to
prevent its coming home.
{To cast anchor}, to drop or let go an anchor to keep a ship
at rest.
{To cat the anchor}, to hoist the anchor to the cathead and
pass the ring-stopper.
{To fish the anchor}, to hoist the flukes to their resting
place (called the bill-boards), and pass the shank
painter.
{To weigh anchor}, to heave or raise the anchor so as to sail
away.
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