# founder

Pronunciation: US say "FOWN-dur" /ˈfaʊn.dɚ/; UK say "FOWN-duh" /ˈfaʊn.də/

## Noun

1. A person who establishes a company, project, organization, or state.
   - Simple: A person who starts a company, group, or organization.
   - _The company's founder stepped down after twenty years at the helm._
   - _Each founder contributed their savings to launch the startup._
5. A worker who casts metals into various forms by pouring molten metal into molds.
   - Simple: A person who makes objects by pouring melted metal into molds.
   - _The founder lifted the crucible and poured glowing metal into the sand mold._
   - _Each bell was cast by a founder who tuned it by shaving away thin layers of metal._
6. A severe form of laminitis in horses, caused by untreated inflammation inside the hooves.
   - Simple: A painful hoof disease in horses caused by swelling deep inside the foot.
   - _The mare developed founder after weeks of standing on hard, dry ground._
   - _Chronic founder had already rotated the bone inside the horse's hoof._
8. The chief furnace worker at an ironworks, responsible for running the furnace and the melt.
   - Simple: The worker in charge of a blast furnace and the melting of iron.
   - _The founder signaled the crew to open the furnace and tap the metal._
   - _Years at the furnace had made him the most trusted founder at the ironworks._
9. A common ancestor of a population, especially one carrying a particular genetic mutation passed down through the group.
   - Simple: A shared early ancestor that a whole group is descended from.
   - _Researchers identified the founder who introduced the mutation into the population._
   - _The rare disease was traced to a single founder several generations back._

## Verb

2. Of a vessel, to fill with water and sink.
   - Simple: To fill with water and sink below the surface.
   - _The ferry foundered within minutes of striking the reef._
   - _Sailors scrambled to the lifeboats as their ship started to founder._
3. To fail or come to nothing; to break down.
   - Simple: To fail or break down completely after starting out.
   - _The merger foundered when the two boards could not agree._
   - _Without funding, even the best projects founder quickly._
4. To stumble and fall, going lame in the process.
   - Simple: To stumble and fall, often becoming lame in the process.
   - _The packhorse foundered under its heavy load._
   - _On icy ground, even sure-footed mules can founder._
7. To bring on inflammation and soreness inside a horse's feet or legs, leaving the animal lame or unfit for work.
   - Simple: To make a horse lame by causing swelling and soreness in its feet.
   - _Overfeeding grain can founder a horse within days._
   - _He had foundered the mare by working her hard on frozen ground._

## Verb

10. To cause a ship to fill with water and sink. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To make a ship fill with water and sink.
   - _A single well-aimed broadside could founder the enemy frigate._
   - _The collision foundered the schooner before her crew could react._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 9** — This sense comes from Old French fondeur, which came from Latin fundātor; it is equivalent to "found" plus the ending "-er".
**Meanings 5, 8** — This sense comes from Middle French fondeur, which came from the Latin fundo, meaning "pour, melt, cast."
**Meanings 2–4, 6–7, 10** — This sense comes from Middle French fondrer, meaning "send to the bottom," which came from the Latin fundus, meaning "bottom."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/founder (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).