Added 9 October 2026
foreign
/ˈfɒɹɪn/ adjective
In Latin: extraneus, barbarus, peregrinus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about foreign at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Located outside a country or place, especially one's own.
foreign markets; foreign soil
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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
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Relating to a different nation.
foreign policy; foreign navies
noun
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)