different between corrupt vs foul

English

Alternative forms

• corrumpt (archaic)
• corrump (obsolete)
• corroupt (rare)

Etymology

From Middle English corrupten, derived from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrump?, corrumpere (“to destroy, ruin, injure, spoil, corrupt, bribe”), from com- (“together”) + rumpere (“to break in pieces”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k????pt/
• Rhymes: -?pt

Adjective

corrupt (comparative more corrupt, superlative most corrupt)

1. In a depraved state; debased; perverted; morally degenerate; weak in morals.

   The government here is corrupt, so we'll emigrate to escape them.

   • The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
2. Abounding in errors; not genuine or correct; in an invalid state.

   The text of the manuscript is corrupt.

   It turned out that the program was corrupt - that's why it wouldn't open.

3. In a putrid state; spoiled; tainted; vitiated; unsound.

   • with such corrupt and pestilent bread to feed them.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "corrupt" is often applied: practice, state, country, nation, regime, city, government, person, man, politician, leader, mayor, judge, member, minister, file, database, document, woman.

Synonyms

• corrupted

Translations

Verb

corrupt (third-person singular simple present corrupts, present participle corrupting, simple past and past participle corrupted)

1. (transitive) To make corrupt; to change from good to bad; to draw away from the right path; to deprave; to pervert.

   • And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

2. (archaic, intransitive) To become putrid, tainted, or otherwise impure; to putrefy; to rot.

   • he entrails, which are the parts aptest to corrupt
3. To debase or make impure by alterations or additions; to falsify.

4. To waste, spoil, or consume; to make worthless.

   • Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt.

Translations

Related terms

• corruptible
• corruption
• incorruptible

References

• corrupt in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• corrupt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin corruptus or from Middle French corrupt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??r?pt/
• Hyphenation: cor?rupt
• Rhymes: -?pt

Adjective

corrupt (comparative corrupter, superlative corruptst)

1. corrupt (lacking integrity, being prone to discriminating, open to bribes, etc.)

2. (textual criticism) corrupt (containing (many) errors)

3. deprave, morally corrupt

Inflection

Related terms

• corrumperen
• corruptie

Descendants

• Afrikaans: korrup
• ? Indonesian: korup
• ? West Frisian: korrupt

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin corruptus.

Adjective

corrupt m (feminine singular corrupte, masculine plural corrupts, feminine plural corruptes)

1. corrupt (impure; not in its original form)

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: foul, IPA^(key): /fa?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l
• Homophone: fowl
• Rhymes: -a??l

Etymology 1

From Middle English foul, from Old English f?l (“foul, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, guilty”), from Proto-Germanic *f?laz (“foul, rotten”), from Proto-Indo-European *puH- (“to rot”). Cognate with Dutch vuil (“foul”), German faul (“rotten, putrid”), Danish and Swedish ful (“foul”), and through Indo-European, with Albanian fëlliq (“to make dirty”), Latin puter (“rotten”). More at putrid.

Ancient Greek ?????? (phaûlos, “bad”) is a false cognate inasmuch as it is not from the same etymon, instead being cognate to few.

Adjective

foul (comparative fouler, superlative foulest)

1. Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.

2. (of words or a way of speaking) obscene, vulgar or abusive.

3. Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.
   • c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II scene ii^[1]:

     […] Hast thou forgot / The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy / Was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?
4. Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.

5. (obsolete) Ugly; homely; poor.
6. (of the weather) Unpleasant, stormy or rainy.
7. Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.

8. (nautical) Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.

9. (baseball) Outside of the base lines; in foul territory.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "foul" is often applied: play, ball, language, breath, smell, odor, water, weather, deed.

Synonyms

• (hateful, detestable): shameful; odious; wretched

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English foulen, fulen, from Old English f?lian (“to become foul; rot; decay”), from Proto-Germanic *f?l?n? (“to rot; decay”).

Verb

foul (third-person singular simple present fouls, present participle fouling, simple past and past participle fouled)

1. (transitive) To make dirty.

   to foul the face or hands with mire

   She's fouled her diaper.

2. (transitive) To besmirch.

   He's fouled his reputation.

3. (transitive) To clog or obstruct.
4. (transitive, nautical) To entangle.
   • 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 18, [2]

     The Indian's heart was sore for his boat; it looked as if nothing could save her. She was drifting more slowly now, her propeller fouled in kelp.

   The kelp has fouled the prop.

5. (transitive, basketball) To make contact with an opposing player in order to gain advantage.

   Smith fouled him hard.

6. (transitive, baseball) To hit outside of the baselines.

   Jones fouled the ball off the facing of the upper deck.

7. (intransitive) To become clogged.

   The drain fouled.

8. (intransitive) To become entangled.

   The prop fouled on the kelp.

9. (intransitive, basketball) To commit a foul.

   Smith fouled within the first minute of the quarter.

10. (intransitive, baseball) To hit a ball outside of the baselines.

    Jones fouled for strike one.

Derived terms

• foul one's own nest

Translations

Noun

foul (plural fouls)

1. (sports) A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
2. (bowling) A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball.
3. (baseball) A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines.

   Jones hit a foul up over the screen.

Descendants

• ? Russian: ??? (fol)

Translations

See also

• foul fish

Further reading

• foul in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• foul in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• foul at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• fluo-

German

Verb

foul

1. singular imperative of foulen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of foulen

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French fol.

Noun

foul

1. Alternative form of fole (“fool”)

Etymology 2

From Old English fugol.

Noun

foul

1. Alternative form of fowel