foil

foil¹

—foilable, adj.

/foyl/, v.t.

1. to prevent the success of; frustrate; balk: Loyal troops foiled his attempt to overthrow the government.

2. to keep (a person) from succeeding in an enterprise, plan, etc.

n.

3. Archaic. a defeat; check; repulse.

[1250-1300; ME foilen, < AF foller, OF fuler to trample, full (cloth). See FULL²]

Syn. 1. thwart; impede, hamper.

foil²

/foyl/, n.

1. metal in the form of very thin sheets: aluminum foil.

2. the metallic backing applied to glass to form a mirror.

3. a thin layer of metal placed under a gem in a closed setting to improve its color or brilliancy.

4. a person or thing that makes another seem better by contrast: The straight man was an able foil to the comic.

5. Archit. an arc or a rounded space between cusps, as in the tracery of a window or other ornamentation.

6. an airfoil or hydrofoil.

v.t.

7. to cover or back with foil.

8. to set off by contrast.

[1350-1400; ME foille, foil < OF fuelle, fueille, foille ( < L folia leaves), fuel, fueil, foil ( < L folium leaf, blade)]

Syn. 4. contrast, complement, counterpart.

foil³

/foyl/, n. Fencing.

1. a flexible four-sided rapier having a blunt point.

2. foils, the art or practice of fencing with this weapon, points being made by touching the trunk of the opponent's body with the tip of the weapon.

[1585-95; orig. uncert.]

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▪ architecture

      in architecture, leaf-shaped, indented spaces which, combined with cusps (small, projecting arcs outlining the leaf design), are found especially in the tracery (decorative openwork) of Gothic windows. The term is derived from the Latin folium, meaning “leaf.” A window or wall ornamented with foils is referred to as foiled. There are three kinds of such stylized foliated decoration: trefoil, quatrefoil, and cinquefoil, or three-, four-, and five-lobed leaves.

▪ literature

 in literature, a character who is presented as a contrast to a second character so as to point to or show to advantage some aspect of the second character. An obvious example is the character of Dr. Watson in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur)'s Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson is a perfect foil for Holmes because his relative obtuseness makes Holmes's deductions seem more brilliant.

▪ metallurgy

      solid metal that has been reduced to a leaflike thinness by mechanical beating or rolling. Jewellers have long used a thin foil of copper-zinc alloy as backing for paste jewels and inferior gemstones. The colour and lustre of the gems is heightened by foil that has been silvered, burnished, and coated with translucent colouring.

      The first mass-produced and widely used foil was made from tin, now replaced by aluminum for nearly all purposes. The reduction of sheet metal to foil is achieved principally through vertical pressure exerted by finishing-mill rolls combined with horizontal tension applied through mandrels paying out and rewinding the foil stock. Backup rolls mounted above the work rolls of the finishing mills provide increased vertical pressure. Finishing mills may be two, three, or four rolls high, depending on the foil width and thickness required. To produce very light gauge (thin) material, two sheets of aluminum may be rolled together, then parted and rewound individually. By rolling a double web, foil is produced that is bright on one side and matte finished on the other. Aluminum foil may be coloured, printed, embossed, bonded to other materials, or coated with a plastic film.

▪ sword

      a sword with a light, flexible blade of rectangular cross section tapering to a blunt point. Designed as a practice weapon for the smallsword fashionable in the 17th century, it is now used primarily in the sport of fencing.

 The modern fencing foil (see illustration—>) has a maximum overall length of 110 centimetres (3 feet 7 inches) and a maximum weight of 500 grams (about 17.5 ounces), although it is usually lighter for greater speed of movement. The blade is of finely tempered steel up to (90 cm (2 feet 11 ¹/₂ inches) long, with a usually circular handguard up to 12 cm in diameter.

      There are two principal forms: the French, with a plain, slightly curved handle, and the Italian, with a crossbar about 5 cm behind the guard and a strap that binds the weapon to the wrist. The Italian foil provides a somewhat stronger grip, whereas the French gives greater freedom of action to the fingers and wrist.

      The foil was the first weapon used in international competition by both men and women. In contests, touches must be made with the point on a target that includes the trunk from the top of the collar to the groin lines in front and to a line across the top of the hips in back. The target for both women and men has been the same since 1960. A retreat of more than 4 metres (13 feet) also scores a touch against the defender. Other touches are foul but incur no penalty other than stopping the action and voiding any touches made between the time of the foul and resumption of the match.

      An attacker generally has the right-of-way, and the defender must parry, or neutralize, the attack before making a counterattack (riposte). A double touch is scored for the fencer who has the right-of-way. An electrical scoring apparatus was adopted for international events in 1956, but judges still rule on right-of-way.

      The first to score five touches against an opponent is the winner.

      Fencing with the foil has long been a standard international event. Individual foil for men is one of the few sports that was held at every modern Olympic Games; team competition began in 1904. Olympic medals were awarded to women at individual foil from 1924 and at team foil from 1960.

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