foul

a. [ Compar. Fouler superl. Foulest. ] [ OE. foul, ful, AS. fūl; akin to D. vuil, G. faul rotten, OHG. fūl, Icel. fūl foul, fetid; Dan. fuul, Sw. ful foul, Goth. fūls fetid, Lith. puti to be putrid, L. putere to stink, be putrid, pus pus, Gr. py`on pus, to cause to rot, Skr. pūy to stink. √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. [ 1913 Webster ]

My face is foul with weeping. Job. xvi. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hateful; detestable; shameful; odious; wretched. “The foul with Sycorax.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Loathsome; disgusting; as, a foul disease. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Ugly; homely; poor. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let us, like merchants, show our foulest wares. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

So foul a sky clears not without a storm. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Not conformed to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.; unfair; dishonest; dishonorable; cheating; as, foul play. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]