foundation
Pluralfoundations
- 1The basis or underlying principle on which something rests and from which it develops.
These early reforms laid the foundation for decades of economic growth.
Trust forms the foundation of any lasting partnership.
UsageOften in lay the foundation for something or lay the foundations of it; also the foundation of a relationship.
Similarbase
- 2The lowest, load-bearing part of a building, wall or other structure, usually below ground, on which it stands.
Engineers poured the foundation before raising the steel frame.
The old house had settled because its foundation was cracking.
Note
The literal base under a building gives English its picture of a claim with nothing to hold it up, close to the "basis" meaning: a story without foundation has nothing beneath it. Sheridan's The School for Scandal (1777) already uses "without foundation" of a slanderous story, and we still speak of a rumor without foundation.
- 3An institution or charity established and supported by an endowment of funds.
The research foundation awards grants to young scientists each year.
He runs a charitable foundation dedicated to clean water projects.
Similarcharity, trust, institute, organization
- 4The act of founding, establishing, or beginning to build something.
The foundation of the republic followed years of revolution.
Historians date the foundation of the monastery to the ninth century.
UsageNames an event, usually with of and often a date: the foundation of Rome, since its foundation in 1850.
Similarestablishment
Oppositedissolution, abolition
- 5A skin-colored cosmetic, usually a liquid, cream or powder, applied to give the face an even color and texture.
The makeup artist blended foundation across the model's face under bright lights.
A lightweight foundation evens out redness without feeling heavy.
UsageNo a for the makeup on the face (wear foundation, apply foundation); use a foundation for one product or shade.
Note
The makeup sense follows the building metaphor: foundation is the base the rest of the makeup is built on. It is typically an emulsion of oils, water and pigments that evens out skin tone.
Less common meanings
- 6A donation or legacy appropriated as a permanent fund to support a charitable institution; an endowment.
A local merchant left the hospital a foundation of $20,000, invested so that only the yearly income could ever be spent.
Rather than spend the bequest at once, the trustees kept it as a permanent foundation and paid the scholarships from the interest alone.
Similarendowment, fund, bequest, legacy
Note
Here foundation is the money, not the organization: a gift or bequest set apart as a permanent fund, which is why endowment is its closest synonym. The word also names the endowed institution, and the two are easy to blur. A foundation that a donor leaves or invests is the fund; a foundation that awards grants is the institution.
- 7In solitaire and patience games, one of the piles built up by the player, usually holding a full suit in ascending order.
He could finally move the trapped king onto its foundation.
Each foundation must begin with an ace and build up to the king.
Note
These are the target piles the game is played toward, though some games allow a card to be moved back off them. In many patience games, Klondike among them, there are four, one for each suit, each started with an ace and built upward to the king; other games change the number, the starting card or the direction. Completing them all is how the game is won.
Practice
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Origin
Latin fundātiō, meaning "founding" or "foundation," passed into Old French as fondacion and into Middle English as foundacioun.