fossway 
fossway (fos'wa), n. One of the great Roman 
roads in England : so called from the ditch on 
each side. Also spelled foxxricay. 
The Fosse-vat/ at Leicester. N. ami Q. , 6th ser. , XII. 372. 
foster 1 ! (fos'ter), H. [< ME. foster, < AS. fostor, 
foster, fostur, nourishment, feeding, rearing, 
fostering (= Icel. foxtr, nursing, = Sw. Dan. 
foster, fetus, embryo, offspring; cf. D. voedster, 
nurse), for "fodtor, <foda, food: see food, fod- 
<//)'.] 1. Nourishment; care; keeping. 
Of thare sorow no some [sum, end], tot ay to be yelland 
In am-vfiistre. 7'n/c//.. !, ;/ Mygteriet, p. 320. 
2. A nursling; a child; progeny; offspring. 
Hit was the forme-foster that the folde [earth] bred. 
Mlit.'fKtirf Porau(ed. Morris), ii. 257. 
Thll art foster of freo monne. 
Si. Mrirherete, (ed. Cockayne), p. 4. 
3. [Bather a contr. of fosterer.] A fosterer or 
cherisher. Darirx. 
Thu art f outer and feder to helplesse children. 
St. Marhercte (ed. Cockayne), p. 8. 
He plays the serpent right, descrih'd in Esop's tale, 
That Bought thefoster's death, that lately gave him life. 
Greene and Lodge, Looking Glass for Lond. and En;;. , 
[p. 131. 
foster 1 (fos'ter), r. [< tSE.fostrcn, < AS. "/o,x- 
trian, umlauted/esfrian, nourish, foster (= Icel. 
fostra = Sw. fostra = Dstn.fostre, foster; cf. 
D. voedstercii (poet.), feed, foster), <fostor, fos- 
ter, nourishment, feeding, rearing, fostering: 
see foster 1 , n.] I. trans. 1. To feed; nourish; 
support ; bring up. 
He es my fadire in faithe, for-sake salle I never ! 
He has me fosterde and fedde, and my faire bretherene. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4144. 
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. 
Shak., Tit. And., ii. 3. 
Bacchus and fostering Ceres, powers divine, 
Who gave us corn for mast, for water wine. 
I)ri/tien, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, i. 
2. To sustain by aid, care, or encouragement ; 
give support to ; cherish ; promote : as, to fos- 
ter the growth of tender plants ; to foster an en- 
terprise; to foster pride or genius. 
They [the priests] shave their heads and foster their 
beards, contrary to the laity. .SawdT/s, Travailes, p. 133. 
Oft, 'mid some green plot of open ground, 
Wide as the oak extends its dewy gloom, 
The fostered hyacinths spread their purple bloom. 
Wordsworth, Eccles. Sonnets, i. 27. 
Benignly fostered by the good St. Nicholas, the infant 
city thrived apace. Irring, Knickerbocker, p. 140. 
= Syn. 2. Harbor, etc. (see cherish) ; to indulge, favor, for- 
ward, advance, further, help on. 
Il.t intrans. To be nourished or trained up 
together. Spenser. 
foster 2 ! (fos'ter), n. A contracted form of for- 
ster, forester. 
And still l\\e foster with his long bore-speare 
Him kept from landing at his wished will. 
Spettser, F. Q., III. v. 20. 
fosterage (fos'ter-aj), n. [Formerly also fos- 
teridge ; < foster 1 + -age.] The act of fostering, 
nursing, or nourishing; specifically, the rearing 
of another's child as one s own, in the relation 
of foster-parent and foster-child. 
Some one or other adjoining to this lake had the charge 
znAfosteridge of this child [Semiramis]. 
Raleigh, Hist. World, I. xii. 3. 
Fosterage was an institution which, though artificial in 
its commencements, was natural in its operations ; and 
. . . the relation of foster-parent and foster-child tended, 
in that stage of feeling, to become indistinguishable from 
the relation of father and son. 
Maine, Early Hist, of Institutions, p. 242. 
foster-babe (fos'ter-bab), n. [< foster^, n., + 
babe.] An infant foster-child. 
All thy foster-babes are dead. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iv. 89. 
foster-brother (fos'ter-bruTH"er), n. [< ME. 
* foster-brother, < A.S.fostor-brothor (= leel.fost- 
brodhir = Sw. Dan. foste rbroder), < fostor, fos- 
ter, + brothor, brother.] A male child nursed 
at the same breast as another, or reared by the 
same person, but not the offspring of the same 
parents. 
I am tame and bred up with my wrongs, 
Which are my foxier-brother's. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, Iv. 
foster-child (fos'ter-child), n. [< ME. foster- 
rJiild, < AS. fostor-cild, < fostor, foster, + did, 
child.] A child nursed or brought up by one 
not its own mother or father. 
Then I avow, by this moat sacred head 
Of my deare foster childe, to ease thy grief e 
And win thy will. Spenser, F. Q., III. ii. 33. 
foster-dam (fos'ter-dam), n. [(foster^ + dam.] 
A nurse ; one who nourishes a child but is not 
its mother. 
2349 
There by the wolf were laid the martial twins : 
Intrepid on her swelling dugs they hung ; 
The/odd rilani Ml'd out her fawning tongue. 
Iti'rt'ii'ti, Kill-ill. 
foster-daughter (fos'ter-da/'ter), ii. [= li-cl. 
fostrdottir = Dim. fosfrrdattcr = Sw. fosterdot- 
ter; &s foster^, >/., + daughter.] A female nour- 
ished or reared like an own daughter, though 
not such by birth. 
*'". ^o : give your /><*'< >' -iltni'ihtei-s good counsell. 
n'i'lixtri; DuchfHS of Maltl, II. 2. 
foster-earth (fos'ter-erth), w. [=Ice\.fostrji>rd, 
native country, = Dan. fosterjord; as foster 1 + 
earth.] Earth by which a plant is nourished, 
though not its native soil. Phili/ix. 
fosterer (fos'ter-er), w. [(.foster 1 , r., + -fir 1 .] 
A nurse ; one who feeds and nourishes in the 
place of a parent ; hence, one who or that which 
promotes or sustains : as, a fosterer of rebel- 
lion ; intemperance is a fosterer of crime. 
Beauty allures to delights, delights to ease, ease conse- 
quently the fosterer to discouraged pusillanimity. 
Ford, Honour Triumphant, ii. 
They [kings] by God are destined to be the protectours 
of the church, the patrons of religion, the fosterers and 
cherishers of truth, of virtue, of piety. 
Burrow, Works, I. x. 
fosteress (fos'ter-es), n. Same nsfostress. 
foster-father (fos'ter-fa/THer), n. [< ME. fos- 
ter-fader, < AS. foster-fader (= Icel. fostrfa- 
dliir = Sw. Dan. fosterfader ; cf. D. voedsterva- 
der), < foster, fostor, foster, + feeder, father.] 
One who takes the place of a father in nour- 
ishing and rearing a child; a nurse's husband. 
Faine would she [Esther] uncase her foster-father [Mor- 
decai] of these mournfull weeds, and change his sack- 
cloth for tissue. Dp. Hall, Haman Disrespected. 
The ordinary foster-father was hound by the law to give 
education of some kind to his foster-children. 
Maine, Early Hist, of Institutions, p. 243. 
fosterhood (fos'ter -hud), n. [< foster 1 + 
-hood.] The state or condition of fostering 
or being fostered ; the relation established by 
fosterage. 
foster-land (fos'ter-land), n. [< AS.fostorland, 
fosterland, (.fostor, provision, feeding, foster, + 
land, land. Cf. Icel. fostrland = Sw. Dan. fos- 
terland, native country.] If. In Anglo-Saxon 
late, land assigned for maintenance or the pro- 
curing of provisions, as for a monastery. 2. 
The land of one's adoption. 
foster-leant, [AS. foster-lean, fdxtor-l&in (= 
Icel. fostrlann = Dan. fosterlon; cf. D. rocd- 
gtertoon), < foster, fostor, rearing, feeding, fos- 
tering, + lean, payment, reward (= OS. Ion = D. 
loon = OHG. MHG. Ion, G. lohn = Icel. laun = 
Sw. Dan. Ion = Goth, latin, reward); perhaps 
related to lucre, q. v., but in no wise to loan, 
with which it is often confused in dictionaries.] 
In Anglo-Saxon law, the remuneration fixed for 
the rearing of a foster-child. [Otherwise stated 
as " the jointure of a wife." Wharton.] 
fosterling (fos'ter-ling), n. [< ME. fosterling 
(cf. D. voedsterling), < AS. fosterling, < foster, 
rearing, fostering, + dim. -ling.] A foster-child. 
I'll none o' your Light Heart fosterlings, no inmates. 
B. Jonson, New Inn, T. 1. 
fostermentt (fos'ter-ment), n. [< foster*-, v., 
+ -ment.] Food ; nourishment. 
foster-mother (fos'ter-muTH' l 'er). n. [< ME. 
foster-moder, < AS. fostor-modor, f outer -modor, 
also fester-moder, etc. (= Icel. fostr-modhir = 
Sw. Dan. fostermoder ; cf. D. rofdstermoder), < 
fostor, foster, 4- modor, mother.] A woman 
who takes the place of the mother in suckling 
and bringing up a child ; a nurse. 
The children, housed 
In her foul den, then at their meat would growl, 
And mock their foster-mother on four feet, 
Till, straighten'd, they grew up to wolf-like men. 
Worse than the wolves. Tennyson, Coming of Arthur. 
foster-nurse (fos'ter-ners), w. [< foster*-, n., 
+ nurse.] A nurse; a cherisher or sustainer. 
Our foster-nurse of nature is repose, 
The which he lacks. .S/in*:., Lear, iv. 4. 
foster-parent (fos'ter-par'ent), n. [< foster 1 , 
n., + parent.] A foster-father or foster-mother. 
fostershipt (fos'ter-ship), n. [</oster 2 for/o>-- 
ester + -ship.] The <}onditionor occupation of 
a forester. 
foster-sister (fos'ter-sis // ter), . [ME. not 
found; < AS. foster-sweostor (Somner) (= Icel. 
fostr-systir, fosystir), < foster, foster, + sweos- 
tor, sister.] A female child, not a sister, reared 
with another child by the same person. 
foster-son (fos'ter-suu), n. [= Icel. fostr-son 
= Da,n. foxterson = Sw.fosterson; &s foster^, n., 
+ son.] A male child nourished or reared like 
an own sou, though not such by birth. 
foudroyant 
Mature in years, to ready honours move ; 
( l (if celestial seed ; (Ifosterson of Jove ! 
Dryden, ;F,neid. 
fostress (fos'tres), H. [<. foster*-, r., + -ess.] A 
woman who nourishes or roars ; a nurse. 
Conic forth ; yam fostrr.ss bids ; who from your birth 
Hath lired ymt to this hour. 
II. JottfiiHi, Prince Henry's Barrier*. 
fotH, fotet, . Middle English forms of foot. 
fot-t, ''. t. A dialectal variation of fet 1 . 
fother 1 (foTH'er), w. [Also written/orMi?r, dial. 
f udder; < ME.follin;fotln<>; rarely fodrr, < AS. 
'fiitlii-i; fittlutr, 'a load (of wood, fagots, gravel, 
etc.), a wagon-load, cart-load, = OS. fothar = 
D. vpeder, roer, a wagon-load, cart-load, roeder, 
a wine-cask, = LG. foder, for = OHG. fuodar, 
MHG. ruoder, G.fnder, a wagon-load, a certain 
measure for wine. The F. foudre, a tun, Sw. 
foder, a tun, fora, a wagon-load, are of LG. 
origin.] If. A wagon-load; a cart-load. 
With him ther was a ploughman, was his brother, 
That hadde ilad of dong ful many a fother. 
Chaucer, Oetl. Prol. to C. T., 1. 530. 
2t. A load ; weight ; burden ; mass. 
Many man weeneth to grieve other, 
And on his head falleth the fother. 
Kichard Coer de Lion, I. 1731. 
Heore nether lippe is a foul fother. 
King AliKftinider, 1. 6467. 
3. An old unit of weight for lead, lime, and 
some other substances; a two-horse cart-load. 
A fother of lead varies from IfH to 22J hundredweight, 
each hundredweight being usually 120 pounds avoirdu- 
pois. At Newcastle in England a fother is'a third of a 
chaldron ; and in American "lead-mines the word is some- 
times used for a short ton. 
fother 2 (foTH'er), v. t. [Prob. < Icel. fodhra, 
line or fur (a garment), = Dan. fodrc, fore = 
Sw.fodra, line or fur (ef. Dan. faring, lining, 
naut. ceiling, foot-waling), = G. fiittern, line, 
case, < Icel. fodltr = Dan. Sw. foder, a lining, 
case, Dan. foer, lining, = AS. "foder, fodder 
(rare), a case (boga-fodder, a quiver), = OHG. 
fuotar, MHG. ruoter, G. fatter, a sheath, a case, 
= Goth, fodr, a sheath : see further under/ore? 
and/wri.] To place a sail or tarpaulin over, 
as a leak in a ship's hull, for the purpose of 
keeping the water out. In fathering a leak, 
rope-yarns, oakum, etc., are thickly stitched on 
the sail or tarpaulin. 
If you can't stop a leak by fotherhuj, you can ease the 
pressure of water upon the hole. 
W. C. Russell, Jack's Courtship, xxxvii. 
fotivet (fo'tiv), a. [< L. fotiis, pp. of forere, 
warm: see foment.] Nourishing. 
If I not cherish them 
With my distilling dews, and/ori're heat, 
They know no vegetation. 
Careti*, Ca'lum Hritannicum, iv. 
fotmal (fot'mal), H. [Origin not ascertained.] 
A commercial term for 70 pounds of lead. It 
was legalized by a statute of Edward I. 
fou (fo), a. [Sc., also written fow and /"', = 
E. /MM 1 , a.] Full of food or drink ; drunk. 
They had been fow for weeks thegither. 
Burns, Tarn o'Shanter. 
fou (fo), H. [A particular use of fou, a., full.] 
A bushel. [Scotch.] 
For my last fou, 
A heapit stimpart [fill of corn], I'll reserve ane 
Laid by for you. 
Burns, Auld Farmer's Salutation to his Auld Mare. 
fouaget, w. An obsolete variant otfe-vnge. 
fouat (fo'at), . Seefouet. 
Foucault currents (fo-kol' kur'ents). Cur- 
rents of electricity which are induced in a mass 
of metal when in motion relatively to a non- 
uniform magnetic field, or when stationed in a 
magnetic field of varying intensity. When the 
intensity of the magnetic field surrounding a mass of 
metal or other conductor is by any means increased or di- 
minished, Foucault currents are generated in the conduc- 
tor. Uniform motion of translation in a uniform magnetic 
Held does not produce such currents. Rotatory motion of 
the conductor in a uniform magnetic field does produce 
them. Their energy Is expended in heating the mass or 
in arresting the motion to which they are due. 
foucht, [A contr. of fotireh.] In hunting, a 
quarter of a buck. 
foucht, v. t. [</(M;7i, .] To divide (a buck) 
into quarters. 
foudret, . See faultier. 
foudroyant (fo-droi'ant), a. [F., ppr. nifoii- 
droi/er, strike with lightning, < fottdre, light- 
ning: seefoidder.] 1. Sudden and overwhelm- 
ing in effect; like a lightning-stroke. [Rare.] 
She was not far out of the way, and with Helen Darley 
as a foil anybody would know she must be foudroyant 
and pyramidal if these French adjectives may be natu- 
ralized for this one particular emergency. 
0. W. Holmes, Elsie Venner, II. xxi. 
