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Webster 1913 Edition


Foundation

Foun-da′tion

,
Noun.
[F.
fondation
, L.
fundatio
. See
Found
to establish.]
1.
The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
2.
That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; groundwork; basis.
Behold, I lay in Zion, for a
foundation
, a stone . . . a precious corner stone, a sure
foundation
.
Is. xxviii. 16.
The
foundation
of a free common wealth.
Motley.
3.
(Arch.)
The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course (see
Base course
(a)
, under
Base
,
Noun.
) and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry.
4.
A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.
He was entered on the
foundation
of Westminster.
Macaulay.
5.
That which is founded, or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity;
as, the Ford
Foundation
.
Against the canon laws of our
foundation
.
Milton.
Foundation course
.
See
Base course
, under
Base
,
Noun.
Foundation muslin
,
an open-worked gummed fabric used for stiffening dresses, bonnets, etc.
Foundation school
,
in England, an endowed school.
To be on a foundation
,
to be entitled to a support from the proceeds of an endowment, as a scholar or a fellow of a college.

Webster 1828 Edition


Foundation

FOUNDA'TION

,
Noun.
[L. fundatio, fundo.]
1.
The basis of an edifice; that part of a building which lies on the ground; usually a wall of stone which supports the edifice.
2.
The act of fixing the basis.
3.
The basis or ground work, or any thing; that on which any thing stands, and by which it is supported. A free government has its foundation in the choice and consent of the people to be governed. Christ is the foundation of the church.
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone - a precious cornerstone. Is. 28.
Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Cor. 3.
4.
Original; rise; as the foundation of the world.
5.
Endowment; a donation or legacy appropriated to support an institution, and constituting a permanent fund, usually for a charitable purpose.
6.
Establishment; settlement.

Definition 2024


foundation

foundation

English

Noun

foundation (plural foundations)

  1. The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect.
    The foundation of his institute has been wrought with difficulty.
  2. That upon which anything is founded; that on which anything stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting layer of a superstructure; groundwork; basis; underbuilding.
    • 2013 July 20, The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Since the launch early last year of [] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
  3. (figuratively) The result of the work to begin something; that which stabilizes and allows an enterprise or system to develop.
    • 2006, K P Yadav, Economic Planning And Restructuring, Sarup & Sons (ISBN 9788176256285), page 44
      The implication is that the Gandhian model of growth is possible, now that Nehru's investment strategy had already laid a strong foundation for economic growth.
  4. (card games) In solitaire or patience games, one of the piles of cards that the player attempts to build, usually holding all cards of a suit in ascending order.
  5. (architecture) The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry.
    The foundations of this construction have been laid out.
  6. A donation or legacy appropriated to support a charitable institution, and constituting a permanent fund; endowment.
  7. That which is founded, or established by endowment; an endowed institution or charity.
    The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is the parent organization of the Wiktionary collaborative project.
  8. (cosmetics) Cosmetic cream roughly skin-colored, designed to make the face appear uniform in color and texture.
  9. A basis for social bodies or intellectual disciplines.
    • 2013 August 3, Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
      Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. [] But as a foundation for analysis it is highly subjective: it rests on difficult decisions about what counts as a territory, what counts as output and how to value it. Indeed, economists are still tweaking it.

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